iron age warriors point to glories of gaul
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Iron Age warriors point to glories of Gaul

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Iron Age warriors point to glories of Gaul

Bucheres - AFP

In a muddy field located between a motorway and a meander of the Seine southeast of Paris, French archaeologists have uncovered an Iron Age graveyard that they believe will shed light on the great yet enigmatic civilisation of Gaul. The site, earmarked for a warehouse project on the outskirts of Troyes, is yielding a stunning array of finds, including five Celtic warriors, whose weapons and adornments attest to membership of a powerful but long-lost elite. Archaeologist Emilie Millet is crouched at one of 14 burial sites that have been uncovered in recent weeks. At her feet are the remains of a tall warrior, complete with a 70-centimetre (28-inch) iron sword still in its scabbard. "I have never seen anything like it," said Millet, gazing at a metal-framed shield whose wood-and-leather core has long rotted away. Buried next to the warriors are several women, whose jewellery -- twisted-metal necklaces known as torcs, and large bronze brooches decorated with precious coral -- also speak of high status. In one grave, a woman was buried next to a man, separated by a layer of soil, speaking of a close but as-yet unfathomable bond. "This graveyard is exceptional in more ways than one," says the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), which excavates sites of potential interest before the bulldozers are allowed in. The jewellery suggests that the dead were buried between 325 and 260 BC, in a period known as La Tene. Another clue may come from analysis of the scabbards, whose decoration changed according to military fashion. Designs in this period typically had two open-mouthed dragons facing each other, with their bodies curled. La Tene, whose name comes from an archaeological site in Switzerland, ran from about the 5th century BC to the first century AD, marking the glory years of the Celts. During this time, the Celts expanded from their core territory in central Europe to as far afield as northern Scotland and the Atlantic coast of Spain. They clashed with the emerging Roman empire, whose writers recorded the invaders as pale-skinned savages, dressed in breeches with bleached hair, who cut off their enemies' heads, preserving those of high rank in cedar oil. The barbarian image, though, has been dispelled by historical research in recent decades. It has laid bare a complex civilisation that had a mastery of metal and a trading system which spanned Europe and generated great wealth. The find at Bucheres raises several questions, for there has never been any trace of major Celtic settlement in this neighbourhood. The graves were uncovered at a depth of about two metres (6.5 feet) but if they had any external markers, none remains. An earlier civilisation, from the Bronze Age, left a line of burial mounds nearby, "which would have been visible for miles (kilometres) around," said Inrap archaeologist Cecile Paresys. Just as intriguing, the excavation has yet to find any pottery or evidence of food, which were often added to Iron Age burials to sustain the dead in the spirit world. No remains of children have been found, although this absence is common to Celtic necropolises -- something that anthropologists are at a loss to explain. Years of patient forensic work lie ahead to tease out clues about how these people lived and died. In the meantime, the remains are being recorded where they lie before being gently prised from the earth and preserved.

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

iron age warriors point to glories of gaul iron age warriors point to glories of gaul

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

iron age warriors point to glories of gaul iron age warriors point to glories of gaul

 



GMT 12:48 2016 Sunday ,27 November

Cilic, Dodig push Croatia to brink of Davis Cup

GMT 05:24 2017 Thursday ,28 December

Erdogan says 'terrorist' Assad cannot be part of Syria

GMT 12:59 2016 Saturday ,05 November

WB welcomes economic reforms in Egypt

GMT 18:40 2016 Saturday ,05 November

Egyptian GDRs in London down

GMT 10:57 2017 Wednesday ,06 December

Peru striker Guerrero has doping ban extended

GMT 17:51 2017 Tuesday ,07 March

Trump Signs New Travel Ban on Six Muslim Countries

GMT 10:30 2017 Wednesday ,06 September

Saudi Information Ministry praises media role during Hajj

GMT 15:29 2017 Tuesday ,24 January

Mind games really do help your brain

GMT 06:55 2015 Thursday ,01 October

Boston Red Sox beat Yankees

GMT 08:17 2017 Monday ,28 August

Bahrain celebrates World Humanitarian Day 2017

GMT 02:07 2017 Tuesday ,28 February

Opposition seeks Russian support at Syria talks
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday