Brutal and Intriguing Facts About Celtic Life

Brutal and Intriguing Facts About Celtic Life

Natasha sheldon - September 2, 2019

Brutal and Intriguing Facts About Celtic Life
Hittite silver vessel, terminating in the forepart of a stag. C. 14th-13th century BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Wikimedia Commons. Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

2. Celtic Culture did not arrive fully formed. It evolved.

The Celts, however, did not just “arrive.” Instead, Celtic culture evolved as a result of events that occurred around 1200 BC when established civilizations such as the Mycenaean and Hittite empires began to collapse. This collapse had a significant effect, sparking off a series of mass migrations of people — and knowledge. The Hittites were skilled metal workers — and so, as their empire fragmented, their metallurgical secrets leaked out, gradually making their way into Eastern Europe. As a result of the subsequent advances in existing bronze working, a new, proto-Celtic culture began to emerge in the first and second millennium BC: Urnfield Culture.

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