Editing La Tène culture (section)

==Culture==

{{blockquote|"In the final phases of the Iron Age, before the expansion of the Roman empire northwards in the first century BC, major changes are apparent in the economy and society of temperate Europe from central France to the Black Sea. The settlement pattern was transformed by the growth of large sites which functioned as towns, and new centres of industrial production distributed standardized wares over larger distances. At the same time, political power was becoming increasingly centralized … Coinage was introduced… The use of writing was known, at least for keeping official records. Thus even before the Roman conquest, large parts of Europe were occupied by literate societies with a high degree of social, economic and political development."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=bMMMlPReRm4C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Prehistoric Europe |date=2009 |last1=Champion |first1=Timothy |display-authors=etal |pages=297 |isbn=9781598744637}}</ref>}}

=== Settlements ===
{{See also|Oppidum}}

[[File:Oppidium Manching Osttor Modell.jpg|thumb|Model of the main gate at the [[Oppidum of Manching|Manching oppidum]], Germany<ref>{{cite web |url=https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-ba2eda3c70d551c10d0a90662b5b36bf |title=Digital reconstruction of the Manching oppidum |website=www.geo.de/magazine/geo-epoche/4783-rtkl-leseprobe-die-bedrohte-metropole}}</ref>|251x251px]]

Initially La Tène people lived in open settlements that were dominated by the chieftains' hill forts. The development of walled towns and cities—known as ''[[Oppidum|oppida]]''—appears during the mid-La Tène culture in the 2nd century BC. The name of ''oppida'' (singular ''oppidum'') was given by [[Julius Caesar]] to the Celtic towns and cities that he encountered during the conquest of Gaul.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/history/02%20Ancient%20Europe%201000%20AD.pdf |title=Ancient Europe, Vol. II |date=2004 |publisher=Thomson-Gale |last1=Bogucki |first1=Peter |chapter=Oppida in Britain |pages=154}}</ref> Oppida were characterized by very large surface areas (up to hundreds of hectares) and were defended by often massive ramparts and walls.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Oxford_Handbook_of_the_European_Iron/hOvXEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover |title=The Oxford Handbook of the European Iron Age |chapter=21: Urbanization and Oppida |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Fichtl |first=Stephan |pages=717-741}}</ref> They are often described as 'the first cities north of the Alps', though this description has also been applied to earlier settlements of the [[Hallstatt culture|Hallstatt]] and [[Urnfield culture|Urnfield]] periods.<ref name="Fernández-Götz 2018 117–162">{{Cite journal |last=Fernández-Götz |first=Manuel |date=2018 |title=Urbanization in Iron Age Europe: Trajectories, Patterns, and Social Dynamics |journal=Journal of Archaeological Research |volume=26 |issue=2 |pages=117–162 |doi=10.1007/s10814-017-9107-1 |s2cid=254594968 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=20.500.11820/74e98a7e-45fb-40d5-91c4-727229ba8cc7}}</ref> Oppida served as centres of craft production and commerce and were also important political and religious centres, with major oppida functioning as the capitals of Celtic states.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Oxford_Handbook_of_the_European_Iron/hOvXEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover |title=The Oxford Handbook of the European Iron Age |chapter=21: Urbanization and Oppida |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Fichtl |first=Stephan |pages=717-741}}</ref>

Oppida appeared more or less simultaneously from the Atlantic to central Europe in the second century BC.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Oxford_Handbook_of_the_European_Iron/hOvXEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover |title=The Oxford Handbook of the European Iron Age |chapter=21: Urbanization and Oppida |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Fichtl |first=Stephan |pages=717-741}}</ref> More than 180 oppida are known today, stretching from France in the west to Hungary in the east. Oppida-like settlements are also known from Britain and northern Spain.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004414365/BP000202002.xml |title=Chapter 2: A World of 200 Oppida: Pre-Roman Urbanism in Temperate Europe |date=2020| publisher=Brill |last=Fernandez-Gotz |first=Manuel}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://cdn.preterhuman.net/texts/history/02%20Ancient%20Europe%201000%20AD.pdf |title=Ancient Europe, Vol. II |date=2004 |publisher=Thomson-Gale |last1=Bogucki |first1=Peter |chapter=Oppida in Britain |pages=157}}</ref> 

[[File:Oppida map 2.jpg|thumb|251x251px|Distribution of fortified [[Oppidum|oppida]]]]

Many oppida had planned layouts and some had standardised building designs, indicating a high level of central organization.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Oxford_Handbook_of_the_European_Iron/hOvXEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover |title=The Oxford Handbook of the European Iron Age |chapter=21: Urbanization and Oppida |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Fichtl |first=Stephan |pages=717-741}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last=Vandemoortele |first=Kathleen |date=2011 |title=Late La Tene oppida in West and Central Europe |url=https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/54456/ |location=Cardiff University |degree=PhD |pages=114}}</ref> At the [[oppidum of Manching]] in Germany all the buildings were constructed with the same standardised measurements, and a metal measuring rod conforming to this standard was found within the settlement.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Vandemoortele |first=Kathleen |date=2011 |title=Late La Tene oppida in West and Central Europe |url=https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/54456/ |location=Cardiff University |degree=PhD |pages=114}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Metrological-research-into-the-foot-measurement-in-Schubert-Schubert/f3a78310cded4020a93ac987c431f5ea6dd419b0 |journal=Complutum |volume=4 |date=1993 |pages=227-236|title=Metrological research into the foot measurement found in the celtic oppidum of Manching}}</ref> Similar standards have been identified at multiple other oppida.<ref name=":0" /> The layout and structure of oppidum buildings demonstrates a knowledge of geometric principles that suggests the role of specialized craftsmen, surveyors or master builders in their construction.<ref name=":0">{{cite thesis |last=
Wassong |first=Rémy  |date=2018 |title=Architectures et métrologie en Europe celtique entre le VIIe et le Ier siècle avant notre ère |url=https://theses.hal.science/tel-02965061/|location=Strasbourg University |degree=PhD |pages=317-357}}</ref> Large buildings inside the oppida included temples, assembly spaces and other public buildings.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fernandez-Gotz |first=Manuel |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004414365/BP000202002.xml |title=Chapter 2: A World of 200 Oppida: Pre-Roman Urbanism in Temperate Europe |date=2020 |publisher=Brill}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hantrais |first1=Juliette |last2=Barral |first2=Philippe |last3=Nouvel |first3=Pierre |last4=Thivet |first4=Matthieu |last5=Joly |first5=Martine |date=2020 |title=The PC15 Building: a Wood-Built Public Place at the Center of the Oppidum of Bibracte (France) |url=https://www.academia.edu/42644330 |journal=Chronika |volume=10 |pages=44–53}}</ref> At the oppidum of [[Bibracte]] a monumental stone basin was constructed in the centre of the oppidum based on a precise geometric design with an astronomical alignment.<ref name=":02">{{cite book |last1=Almagro-Gorbea |first1=Martin |url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CMPL/article/view/CMPL9191220239A |title=El Estanque Monumentale de Bibracte |last2=Gran-Aymerich |first2=Jean |date=January 1991 |editor-last1=Almagro-Gorbea |editor-first1=Martin |pages=239–240 |chapter=Summary |editor-last2=Gran-Aymerich |editor-first2=Jean}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Almagro-Gorbea |first1=Martin |url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CMPL/article/view/CMPL9191220283A |title=El Estanque Monumentale de Bibracte |date=January 1991 |editor-last1=Almagro-Gorbea |editor-first1=Martin |pages=283–286 |chapter=La orientación topoastronómica |editor-last2=Gran-Aymerich |editor-first2=Jean}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=White |first1=Raymond |url=https://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/CMPL/article/view/CMPL9191220275A |title=El Estanque Monumentale de Bibracte |date=January 1991 |editor-last1=Almagro-Gorbea |editor-first1=Martin |pages=275–277 |chapter=Determining the orientation of Le Bassin Monumentale de Bibracte |editor-last2=Gran-Aymerich |editor-first2=Jean}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/JSA/article/view/10650 |journal=Journal of Skyscape Archaeology |volume=4 |issue=2 |date=2018 |title=The Monumental Basin of Mont Beuvray and its Possible Orientation towards the Constellation of Gemini |last1=Maumené |first1=Claude |pages=229–245 |doi=10.1558/jsa.36228}}</ref>

La Tène buildings were typically built of wood though stone was used in massive quantities for the construction of oppida walls, known as [[Murus gallicus|''Murus Gallicus'']].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |date=1995 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415146272 |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |chapter=5: Fortifications and defence}}</ref> Some oppida walls were several kilometres long.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fernandez-Gotz |first=Manuel |url=https://brill.com/display/book/9789004414365/BP000202002.xml |title=Chapter 2: A World of 200 Oppida: Pre-Roman Urbanism in Temperate Europe |date=2020 |publisher=Brill}}</ref> The construction and effectiveness of these walls was described by [[Julius Caesar]] in his account of the [[Gallic Wars]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Julius Caesar, ''Gallic War'', 7.23 |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D23 |website=Perseus Digital Library}}</ref> 

Major oppida were connected by a network of roads.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ERieBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT100&lpg=PT100&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=A Brief History of the Celts| date=2003 |last=Ellis |first=Peter |publisher=Constable |isbn=9781841197906}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/mar/15/britannia-roman-roads-iron-age |website=theguardian.com |title=Britannia Superior: Why Roman roads may not be quite as Roman as we think |date=2011}}</ref> Wooden bridges and [[Causeway|causeways]] are also known from archaeological remains and historical accounts.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TGd2npX8lpkC&pg=PA254&lpg=PA254&dq=%22gallic%2Broads%22%2Bbridges&source=bl&ots=JdckJgsk8g&sig=zElnrMkFaj0KVHqRzECuXyVDwAE&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbhN-mz_nbAhUkJMAKHY9fA6QQ6AEIRzAI#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Roman Remains of Northern and Eastern France: A Guidebook |pages=254 |publisher=Routledge |date=2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/La_Tene_Culture/ |website=worldhistory.org |title=La Tène Culture |date=2021 |last1=Cartwright |first=Mark}}</ref> 

A significant number of oppida developed into Roman cities following the expansion of the Roman empire.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Oxford_Handbook_of_the_European_Iron/hOvXEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover |title=The Oxford Handbook of the European Iron Age |chapter=21: Urbanization and Oppida |date=2023 |publisher=Oxford University Press |last=Fichtl |first=Stephan |pages=717-741}}</ref> These include [[Besançon|Vesontio]] (Besancon), [[Durocortorum|Durocororum]] (Reims), [[Lutetia]] (Paris) and [[Avaricum]] (Bourges) among others.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |date=1995 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415146272 |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |chapter=10: The First Towns  |pages=159-173}}</ref>

=== Trade === 
[[File:MNHA - Finds from the Goeblange-Nospelt Celtic Graves (51187043051).jpg|thumb|Grave with trade goods from the [[Titelberg |Titelberg oppidum]], [[Celtic Luxembourg|Luxembourg]], 1st century BC]]

By the Iron Age, trade operated intensively and extensively throughout Europe. Trade within Celtic lands involved raw materials and manufactured goods, with a large increase in the trade of manufactured goods occurring in the last two centuries BC. Goods were mass produced within the ''oppida'' by specialist industrial workers and craftsmen and distributed to surrounding areas. Items such as pottery, iron weapons, bronze vessels and glass jewellery were produced for export. Goods were transported by merchants with packhorses, wagons and on freight boats along rivers, and tolls were charged on trade routes by local rulers or states. Weighing balances and coins are found in both small and large settlements.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |date=1995 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415146272 |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |chapter=13: Trade and exchange}}</ref> Ships of Celtic design were used for trade with the British Isles and along the Atlantic coast.<ref name=":2">{{cite journal |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/1989/april/veneti-pre-roman-atlantic-sea-power |journal=Naval History |volume=3 |issue=2 |date=1989 |title=The Veneti: A Pre-Roman Atlantic Sea Power |last=Watt |first=D. Cameron}}</ref> Metal production, mining and textile production were noted by the Greek author [[Strabo]], who writes: "among the Petrocorii there are fine iron-works, and also among the Bituriges Cubi; among the Cadurci, linen factories; among the Ruteni, silver mines; and the Gabales, also, have silver mines."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/strabo/4b*.html |title=Strabo, Geography, Book IV Chapter 2| website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> Exports from La Tène cultural areas to the Mediterranean cultures included [[salt]], [[tin]], [[copper]], [[amber]], [[wool]], [[leather]], [[furs]] and [[gold]], whilst wine, luxury products and materials such as [[coral]] were imported northwards from the Mediterranean region.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=13: Trade and exchange}}</ref>  

===Writing===

Some Celtic-language inscriptions are known from this period, written in [[Lepontic language|Lepontic]], Greek and Latin scripts. Writing appears on Celtic coins (such as the names of Celtic rulers or peoples), and writing equipment in the form of wax tablets and [[stylus|styli]] has also been found within settlements.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |pages=241}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.academia.edu/19947178/Vernacular_Celtic_Writing_Traditions_in_the_East_Alpine_Region_in_the_Iron_Age_Period_important_note_continued_in_Inscriptiones_Pseudocelticae_ |journal=Studien zur Kulturgeschichte von Oberösterreich |volume=22 |title=Vernacular Celtic Writing Traditions in the East-Alpine Region in the Iron-Age Period? |date=2009 |last=Stifter |first=David}}</ref> Markings on pottery have been interpreted as a possible distinct 'La Tène alphabet'.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286706140_A_Celtic_script_in_the_eastern_La_Tene_culture |journal=Études Celtiques |volume=35 |issue=1 |date=2003 |title=A Celtic script in the eastern La Tène culture? |last=Zeidler |first=Jurgen}}</ref> Historical accounts by Greek and Roman authors provide descriptions of the use of writing by Celtic peoples at this time, such as the keeping of public records.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Caesar/Gallic_War/1A*.html |website=penelope.uchicago.edu|title=The Gallic War, by Julius Caesar. Book 1, chapter 29 |quote=In the camp of the Helveti were found, and brought to Caesar, records written out in Greek letters, wherein was drawn up a nominal register showingh what number of them had gone out from their homeland, who were able to bear arms, and also seperately children, old men, and women.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Caesar/Gallic_War/1A*.html |title=The Gallic War, by Julius Caesar. Book 6, chapter 14 |quote=Report says that in the schools of the Druids they learn by heart a great number of verses, and therefore some persons remain twenty years under training. And they do not think it proper to commit these utterances to writing, although in almost all other matters, and in their public and private accounts, they make use of Greek letters.}}</ref>

===Coinage===
[[File:ParisiiCoins.jpg|thumb|Gold coin of the [[Parisii (Gaul)|Parisii]]]]

[[Celtic coinage]] originated in the late 4th century BC in a period of intensified contact with Greek states through trade and the employment of Celtic [[Mercenary|mercenaries]] in Greek armies.<ref>School of Archaeology, University of Oxford {{cite web|url=http://web.arch.ox.ac.uk/coins/cci8.htm |accessdate=August 10, 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080716025330/http://web.arch.ox.ac.uk/coins/cci8.htm |title=Coinage in Celtic society |archivedate=July 16, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=13: Trade and exchange}}</ref> Coins were minted by individual Celtic rulers or states and are found in large quantities in settlements and hoards throughout Europe.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=13: Trade and exchange}}</ref> Designs on coins include stylized portraits, abstract symbols and mythological imagery. Coins were made from gold, silver and bronze and were used for official payments, taxes, tribute, fines, religious offerings, dowries and other customary payments.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=14: Coinage}}</ref>

===Technology===

The La Tène period saw a vast increase in iron production, with huge quantities and varieties of iron objects becoming common on all types of settlements.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=Chapter 17: Ironworking in the Celtic world}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=Chapter 10: The First Towns}}</ref> According to Collis (2010), "iron industry and coin use were more advanced than in the Mediterranean, and indicate indigenous changes."<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=Chapter 10: The First Towns}}</ref> By the second century BC, 200 distinct types of iron tools were in common use, serving a wide range of purposes.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=Chapter 12: Resources and Industry}}</ref> Iron nails used in the production of [[Murus gallicus|''Murus Gallicus'']] were mass-produced in enormous quantities. The [[oppidum of Manching]] is estimated to have used used many tons of nails just in the construction of its outer wall.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=Chapter 17: Ironworking in the Celtic world}}</ref> The production of [[high-carbon steel]] is also attested from c. 500 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 January 2014 |title=East Lothian's Broxmouth fort reveals edge of steel |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-25734877 |website=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=Chapter 17: Ironworking in the Celtic world}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Skóra |first1=Kalina |display-authors=etal |date=2019 |title=Weaponry of the Przeworsk Culture in the light of metallographic examinations. The case of the cemetery in Raczkowice |url=https://www.academia.edu/76153774/Weaponry_of_the_Przeworsk_Culture_in_the_Light_of_Metallographic_Examinations_The_Case_of_the_Cemetery_in_Raczkowice |journal=Praehistorische Zeitschrift |volume=94 |issue=2 |pages=1–45 |doi=10.1515/pz-2019-0016 |quote=In Pre-Roman Period Europe one can see a strong diversification of sword blade technologies. There are many low quality blades made from iron or low-carbon steel; on the other hand, one also encounters artefacts made partially or entirely from high-carbon steel.}}</ref> By the 1st century BC [[Noric steel]] was famous for its quality and was sought-after by the [[Roman military]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Presslinger |first1=Hubert |display-authors=etal |date=2005 |title=Norican Steel - An Assessment of the Archaeological Finds at the Magdalensberg Site, Carinthia, Compared to the “Celtic Trove” of Gründberg Hill, Linz |url=https://www.academia.edu/80083255/Norican_Steel_An_Assessment_of_the_Archaeological_Finds_at_the_Magdalensberg_Site_Carinthia_Compared_to_the_Celtic_Trove_of_Gr%C3%BCndberg_Hill_Linz |journal=Steel Research International |volume=76 |issue=9}}</ref>

Technological developments by Celtic craftsmen in this period include the invention of shrunk-on [[Tire|iron tyres]] for wagons and chariots, <ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Selected_Writings_on_Chariots_and_Other/6JO0PkRqpCsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover |title=Selected Writings on Chariots, other Early Vehicles, Riding and Harness |date=2002 |editor-last1=Littauer |editor-first1=M.A. |display-authors=etal |publisher=Leiden |pages=324 |quote=the sweated-on iron tyre is considered to be the invention of Celtic wheelwrights in the La Tene period.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world|last1=Piggot|first1=Stuart|date=1995|title=The Celtic World|editor-last=Green|editor-first=Miranda|publisher=Routledge|chapter=Wood and the Wheelwright|pages=325|isbn=9781135632434 }}</ref> the creation of wagons with [[Front axle|front-axel steering]], and the incorporation of [[Rolling-element bearing|roller-bearings]] within wheel hubs.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |pages=Chapter 21}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=KxTHBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=dejbjerg%20wagon%20roller%20bearings&source=bl&ots=WKV1jEu7FA&sig=ACfU3U2MHGWlTA6mxDg5DE-9R6P0BIIYiQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj45eXNmtHvAhX0RhUIHVXDBDs4ChDoATACegQIARAD#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Motor Car: Past, Present and Future |date=2014 |publisher=Springer |last1=Genta |first1=Giancarlo |pages=6 |quote=The Dejbjerg wagon ... is the first example of a wagon with steering on the front axle, but it can be considered as an articulated vehicle made by two chariots … it incorporated other interesting features, such as wooden roller bearings in the hubs.}}</ref> In the 1st century BC the Greek historian [[Diodorus Siculus]] noted that "In their journeyings and when they go into battle the Gauls use chariots drawn by two horses."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5B*.html |title=Library of History, Book 5, Chapter 29 |first=Diodorus |last=Siculus |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>

According to Julius Caesar trade with the [[British Isles]] was dominated by the [[Veneti (Gaul)|Veneti]] from [[Armorica]],<ref name=":2" /> who commanded "a very great number of ships", which he describes as follows: 

{{quote| The ships were built wholly of oak, and designed to endure any force and violence whatever; the benches which were made of planks a foot in breadth, were fastened by iron spikes of the thickness of a man's thumb; the anchors were secured fast by iron chains instead of cables, and for sails they used skins and thin dressed leather.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://classics.mit.edu/Caesar/gallic.3.3.html |title=The Gallic Wars By Julius Caesar, Book 3, Chapter 13 |website=classics.mit.edu}}</ref>}} 

Close similarities have been noted between Caesar's description and shipwrecks discovered at [[Blackfriars shipwrecks|Blackfriars]] in [[London]] (dating from the 2nd century AD) and at [[Saint Peter Port|St Peter Port]] in [[Guernsey]] (dating from the 3rd century AD), which have been described as [[Gallo-Roman culture|Romano-Celtic]] ships built according to a native Celtic tradition, distinct from that of the Mediterranean.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1095-9270.1995.tb00723.x |journal=The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology |volume=24 |issue=2 |date=1995 |title=Romano-Celtic boats and ships: characteristic features |last=McGrail |first=Sean |doi=10.1111/j.1095-9270.1995.tb00723.x |pages=139-145}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://museums.gov.gg/romanship |title=Gallo-Roman Ship
|website=Guernsey Museums and Galleries}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://mass.cultureelerfgoed.nl/blackfriars-ship-1 |title=Blackfriars Ship 1 |website=mass.cultureelerfgoed.nl}}</ref> McGrail (1995) suggests that the frame-first construction process of these ships represents a specific Celtic ship-building innovation.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |date=1995 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415146272 |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |last=McGrail |first=Sean|chapter=15: Celtic seafaring and transport}}</ref>

Wooden [[Barrel|barrels]] bound with metal hoops were also invented by Celtic craftsmen during the La Tène period<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |chapter=Chapter 18: Wood and the Wheelwright}}</ref> and gradually replaced the use of [[Amphora|amphorae]] within the Roman empire from the 2nd century AD.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/amphorae.html |title=Encyclopedia Romana:Amphora |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref>

The 3rd century BC saw the development of iron [[chain mail]], the invention of which is credited to Celtic armourers by the Roman author [[Marcus Terentius Varro|Varro]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vkV8bcgLbiAC&q=the+celtic+world&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Celtic World |editor-last1=Green |editor-first1=Miranda |publisher=Routledge |date=1995 |isbn=9780415146272 |pages=Chapter 4}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=HscIwvtkq2UC&pg=PA79&dq=laminar%20armor&hl=en&ei=nOMGTqrNNfGv0AGWpbi6Cw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&redir_esc=y#v%3Donepage%26q%26f%3Dtrue |title=Soldiers' Lives Through History - The Ancient World |date=2006 |publisher=Bloomsbury |last=Gabriel |first=Richard A. |pages=79 |quote=The third century BC saw the introduction of iron chain mail invented by the Celts, whose iron craft was much more advanced that the Romans and probably the best in Europe. Chain mail was constructed of thousands of small iron circles linked together to form an iron mesh shirt … Once the Romans adopted the Celtic chain mail armor for their troops, the mail shirt remained the basic armor of the Roman infantryman until the first century CE.}}</ref> Celtic helmet designs also served as the basis for the design of Roman [[Imperial helmet|imperial helmets]] following Caesar's campaigns in Gaul.<ref>{{cite book |last=Elliott |first=Simon |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lMnXDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT28&lpg=PT28&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Roman Legionaries: Soldiers of Empire |date=2018 |publisher=Casemate Publishers}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.academia.edu/1195498/The_Arms_of_the_Romans |title=The Arms of the Romans |date=2002 |publisher=Tempus Publishers |last=Feugère |first=Michel}}</ref> The ''[[spatha]], a'' long sword of Celtic design, was introduced to the Romans by [[Celts|Celtic mercenaries]] and [[Auxilia|auxilaries]], gradually becoming a standard [[heavy infantry]] weapon within the Roman army by the 2nd century AD and replacing the earlier ''[[gladius]]''.<ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Bishop |first=M.C |title=The Spatha: The Roman Long Sword |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2020 |isbn=978-147-283-240-5}}</ref>

The 1st century Roman author [[Pliny the Elder]] attributed the invention of [[soap]] and [[Mattress|mattresses]] to the Gauls.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137%3Abook%3D28 |title=Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, Plin. Nat. 28.51 |website=perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Aabo%3Aphi%2C0978%2C001%3A8%3A73 |title=Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, Plin. Nat. 8.73 |website=perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref> The 2nd century Greek physician [[Aretaeus of Cappadocia]] also attributed the invention of soap to the Gauls.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=XCMwAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Ἀρεταίου Καππαδόκου Τὰ Σωζόμενα |last=Aretaeus of Cappadocia |publisher=Sydenham Society |pages=496}}</ref>

At the site of the {{ill|oppidum of Paule|fr|Forteresse de Paule}} in [[Brittany]] the remains of a wooden structure thought to be a 'machine for drawing water' incorporating a [[Connecting rod|crank and connecting-rod mechanism]] were discovered at the bottom of a well, dating from 68-27 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bibracte.fr/ressource/machine-hydraulique-copie |title=Machine hydraulique |website=Bibracte Museum}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://patrimoine.lamayenne.fr/jublains/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2016_DP_Exposition_Premieres_villes_gauloises_Jublains.pdf |title=L’exposition « Les Premières Villes de l’ouest » |website=patrimoine.lamayenne.fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://patrimoine.lamayenne.fr/jublains/expositions/les-premieres-villes-de-louest/ |title=Les Premières villes de l'Ouest |website=patrimoine.lamayenne.fr}}</ref> This is the earliest known evidence for such a mechanism, which is also known from later Roman machines.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://patrimoine.lamayenne.fr/jublains/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2016_DP_Exposition_Premieres_villes_gauloises_Jublains.pdf |title=L’exposition « Les Premières Villes de l’ouest » |website=patrimoine.lamayenne.fr}}</ref>

In his account of the siege of [[Avaricum]] during the Gallic War, Julius Caesar writes:

{{blockquote |To the extraordinary valor of our soldiers, devices of every sort were opposed by the Gauls; since they are a nation of consummate ingenuity, and most skillful in imitating and making those things which are imparted by any one; for they turned aside the hooks with nooses, and when they had caught hold of them firmly, drew them on by means of engines, and undermined the mound the more skillfully on this account, because there are in their territories extensive iron mines, and consequently every description of mining operations is known and practiced by them.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0001%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3D22 |title=C. Julius Caesar, Gallic War, 7.22 |website=perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>}}

=== Art ===
{{see|Celtic art}}

La Tène [[metalworking|metalwork]] in bronze, iron and gold, developing technologically out of [[Hallstatt culture]], is stylistically characterized by inscribed and inlaid intricate spirals and interlace, on fine bronze vessels, helmets and shields, [[horse trappings]], and elite jewelry, especially the neck rings called [[torc]]s and elaborate clasps called ''[[Brooch|fibulae]]''. It is characterized by elegant, stylized curvilinear animal and vegetal forms, allied with the Hallstatt traditions of geometric patterning.

The Early Style of La Tène art and culture mainly featured static, geometric decoration, while the transition to the Developed Style constituted a shift to movement-based forms, such as [[triskeles]]. Some subsets within the Developed Style contain more specific design trends, such as the recurrent [[Serpentine shape|serpentine]] scroll of the Waldalgesheim Style.<ref>Harding, D. W. ''The Archaeology of Celtic Art''. New York: Routledge, 2007; other schemes of classification are available, indeed more popular; see [[Vincent Megaw]] in Garrow</ref>

=== Burial rites ===
Burial sites included weapons, carts, and both elite and household goods, evoking a strong continuity with an [[afterlife]].<ref>Megaw, chapters 2-5; Laing, chapter 3</ref>

La Tène peoples also dug ritual shafts, in which [[Votive offering|votive offerings]] and even human sacrifices were cast. Severed heads (particularly of defeated enemies) appear to have held great power and were often represented in carvings.<ref>Megaw, chapters 2-5; Laing, chapter 3</ref>

<gallery widths="130" heights="130" perrow="8">
File:Celtic.warriors.garments-replica.jpg|Celtic warrior garments
File:Iron Age Europe Celtic Bronze Helmets (28755977795).jpg|alt=Bronze helmet from Iron Age Europe|Bronze helmet
File:Axle cover for a charriot. Gold. Rheinland-Pfalz,400 BC. Neues Museum.jpg|Chariot's axle cover
File:Museum of ScotlandDSCF6355.jpg|Torrs Horns
File:Röhrenkanne.jpg|Copper pot with lid
File:The Gaulish army, Interpretation Centre of the Muséo Parc, Alésia (7700615978).jpg|Gaulish warrior garments
File:Roquepertuse. Statue de guerrier.jpg|Warrior statue, [[Roquepertuse]], France
File:MAN - casque de la Gorge Meillet (7).jpg|Gaulish bronze helmet
File:Celtic Gold-plated Disc, Auvers-sur-Oise, Val-d'Oise.jpg|Celtic gold-plated disc
File:Iron Age Europe La Tene Culture Burial Goods (28755919625).jpg|La Téne burial goods
File:Celtic sword.jpg|Celtic sword
File:Monnaie 9 MAN.jpg|Gallic gold coin
File:Romano-Celtic mirror (Desborough).jpg|Celtic mirror, England
File:Museum of Pre- and Early History, Saarbrücken 46.jpg|Golden bracelet from Reinheim Princess burial
File:British Museum Basse Yutz flagons (1).jpg|Flagons from [[Basse Yutz Flagons|Basse Yutz]], France
File:A recreation of the wooden funeral chamber of the 'Princess of Reinheim', Reconstructions of Celtic burial mounds, European Archaeological Park of Bliesbruck-Reinheim, Germany France (34640233723).jpg|{{ill|Princess of Reinheim|de|Keltisches Fürstinnengrab von Reinheim}} burial reconstruction
</gallery>