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War and art in Iron Age Britain
War and art in Iron Age Britain
Iron Age Britain has often been considered a particularly
warlike period because of the many hillforts and weapons. Wars and
raids certainly did take place, but how much more warlike this time
was than the Middle Ages or the Bronze Age is difficult to
establish.
The finest examples of British La Tène or Early Celtic art are
often weapons, such as the Kirkburn sword or Battersea shield. The
splendour and expense of these weapons, and the metal parts of the
chariots used by their owners, show the importance attached to
being a warrior in the Iron Age.
Many warriors might have been aristocrats, chiefs or kings. The
few outstanding objects, such as the Great Torc from Snettisham,
were probably signs of their owners' great rank and power. But not
every Iron Age society was so hierarchical. In many, the leading
members of most families may have had the status of a warrior and
owned fine swords.
La Tène is a style of decoration using abstract curving
patterns, which spread rapidly from western Europe from around 450
BC. In Britain and Ireland, local versions of the style were
developed by skilled craftspeople. Few objects used in daily life
were ever decorated with these designs. Instead it was reserved for
metal objects such as torcs, sword scabbards or mirrors. Today it
is difficult to imagine the visual impact that these shining
decorated objects would have had.
Other views: 1. Warrior's grave at Kirkburn,
East Yorks.
2. A cart or chariot burial at Kirkburn, East Yorks.