Celtic healer

Excavations at Stanway, Colchester (Camulodunum) U.K. which date at latest, to just before the Romans arrived in England have provided a very exciting glimpse back into the Celtic past. The site is unique because of the finds in the grave of an individual dubbed the doctor who was buried with... [img_assist|nid=846|title=Mysterious rods and rings|desc=|link=node|align=right|width=150|height=92]...an array of instruments which are easily identifiable as those used by modern surgeons. They are different enough from typical Roman medical 'kits' that have been found elsewhere, and appear to be Celtic (Briton) variations. The doctor was probably a healer, one of the Druid class. He was buried with other interesting items, including feast-ware and a gaming board of a kind heretofore unknown with white and blue glass pieces laid out 'in play'. One of the most intriguing finds may have served some kind of function for divination. Eight rods four made of iron (in two slightly different sizes) and four of copper (also in two sizes) seem to be arranged as if laid in a long narrow box. These were found in proximity to eight rings whose arrangement seem to indicate that they were once connected to a now disintegrated wooden box via cloth or leather loops in some way (perhaps to hold on a flap cover?). The druid/healer/doctor might have used the rods to determine if a certain course of action was likely to be good or ill-omened.

Detail of the Battersea shield

The Battersea shield is a decorative sheet bronze shield probably dating to before the first century AD. Found in the River Thames in the UK, it is decorated with repoussé decoration and enamel. The decoration is typically Celtic in terms of art style consisting of circles and spirals. It may not have been used in battle, but was probably created as an offering to the Celtic river spirits.[img_assist|nid=873|title=Battersea Shield|desc=A full length image of the Battersea shield.|link=node|align=left|width=71|height=150]

Egtved Girl

I was reading about the Newgrange excavation (and reconstruction) tonight and I ran across mention of the Bell Beaker Folk. Needing a refresher anyway I ran through the various cultures of Europe from Neolithic times through early Bronze Age until I ran into the Egtved Girl of the Nordic Bronze Age. The Egtved girl, found in a barrow in Denmark, was buried in 1370 BC, and was well preserved. Her clothing caused a sensation when her tomb was excavated in 1920. The close fitting sleeves and short skirt seem very modern to me. The Lejre Experimental Centre reconstructed the clothing for the Museum of Denmark, and indeed have reconstructed an entire Iron Age settlement as well for the purposes of living history.

Great Torc of Snettisham

The Great Torc from Snettisham from the British Museum Iron Age, about 75 BC Found at Ken Hill, Snettisham, Norfolk, England The most famous object from Iron Age Britain This torc was made with great skill and tremendous care in the first half of the first century BC. It is one of the most elaborate golden objects made in the ancient world. Not even Greek, Roman or Chinese gold workers living 2000 years ago made objects of this complexity. The torc is made from just over a kilogram of gold mixed with silver. It is made from sixty-four threads. Each thread was 1.9 mm wide. Eight threads were twisted together at a time to make 8 separate ropes of metal. These were then twisted around each other to make the final torc. The ends of the torc were cast in moulds. The hollow ends were then welded onto the ropes. The torc was found when the field at Ken Hill, Snettisham was ploughed in 1950. Other hoards were found in the same field in 1948 and 1990. The torc was buried tied together with a complete bracelet by another torc. A coin found in caught in the ropes of the Great Torc suggests the hoard was buried around 75 BC. Diameter: 20 cm Weight: 1080 g

Gundestrup Cauldron

from Wikipedia, March 11, 2007 The Gundestrup cauldron is a richly decorated silver vessel, thought to date from the La Tène Period in the 2nd or 1st century BC. It was found in a peat bog near Gundestrup in Himmerland, Denmark in 1891. It is now kept in the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen. The decorations on the walls of the cauldron depict Celtic deities and rituals. Because of these, and because of the size of the vessel (diameter 69 cm, height 42 cm), it is thought to have been used for sacrificial purposes of the druidic religion.

Oil lamps

(Comment from the AOL message board - link still active)

Eachna
Apr 17, 1999 23:08
Fire hazards aside, here is a page of a location that sells reproductions of oil lamps.
http://members.tripod.com/Oil_Lamps/
I'm not certain whether we would be better served with the '1-2nd century celtic/gaulic' styles, or, the '5th century' Roman/Byzantium style from africa.
One is from the wrong time period, the other the wrong region...in any case, it might be of interest to clann folks!

Vollund
Apr 19, 1999 21:39
I visted the web site for the lamps they looked pretty cool. Maybe someone could tell us which one would be the most appropriate for our time period.

Aonghus
Apr 21, 1999 18:04
As far as Volunds question and those neato oil lamps ... go for the late Roman / Britian lamps or Late Roman Empire

Other links to check out for oil lamps from Comyn

• Artificial Light in ancient Rome
• Roman Polycandelon

Sword Hilt

Bronze anthropoid hilt of an iron sword from Salon in France, around the second Century BC, now in the British Museum, London. Image from Celtic Warriors, 400BC-1600AD by Tim Newark, Blandford Press 1986 The Druid keeps a dagger with a replica of this hilt in a wooden box that also holds incense and an effigy of the Dagda.

The Crwth (bowed lyre)

The CrwthBrogan's most excellent foray into the art of the luthier got me thinking, and at Imbolc I mentioned to him that I have always wanted to have a Crwth which is a bowed version of the ancient Lyre - basically a precursor to the modern violin. Pronounced 'krooth', the instrument is depicted on ancient tomb paintings from Egyptian times, and apparently survived in some form in Ireland and Wales until at least the 18th century. According to some of the sites below, the lyre had made it to Europe by the early Christian era, and the Crwth may have been in Wales at least as early as Roman times. So the Crwth seems a period instrument for our purposes.

The Crwth in Egypt is clearly depicted as played with a plectrum (a pick), and held like a guitar strap and all. By the time it went completely out of favor four thousand years later in Wales it was usually bowed with a curved or straight bow (like a violin bow), but it's questionable if the bow was a recent addition at that time since the violin was replacing the Crwth at the time.

The Welsh Crwth site
http://www.crwth.info/
has a bunch of info in Welsh and English

The Crwth through the ages
http://www.sedayne.co.uk/crwth.html

Here's a picture of a nice Crwth:
http://www.taylorviolins.com/crwth_page.html

The Wikipedia article links to the sites above
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crwth

Witham Shield

The Witham Shield from the British Museum Iron Age, 400-300 BC From the river Witham near Lincoln, England The finest example of Early La Tène Celtic Art from Britain This shield was made at the same time as the Chertsey Shield. In common with the Chertsey and also the Battersea Shield, the Witham Shield was found in a river. It was found in 1826 in the River Witham, near the village of Washingborough, outside the city of Lincoln. When the shield was first found, archaeologists could clearly see the shape of a wild boar on the front. In fact, the shape was cut from a piece of leather and fixed to the shield. The leather has rotted away, but its shadow remains as a different colour in the bronze. Today, the image of the boar has faded, but can still be seen if you look carefully. Small rivet holes across the centre of the shield show where the boar was fixed to the front. This is not a complete shield. It is a decorative front fixed to a wooden back. The wooden back rotted away in the river long ago, just leaving the metal front. The decoration on the shield is one of the best examples of the way British craftspeople adopted the new style of La Tène art. The red colour on the shield's boss are small pieces of red coral from the Mediterranean. Coral decoration was rare on objects made in Iron Age Britain. Usually, red glass was used, as on the Battersea Shield. Length: 109.22 cm ((3ft 7ins))