OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP: An aerial view of the , .

2000 The site of a major and uninhabited since A.D. 500, the , Titelberg, like many oppida, was constructed on a high and easily

FICHTL fortified plateau. BOTTOM: Map of Europe showing sites of the major . S

: oppida and sites mentioned in the text. The area of the oppida included southern England and much of transalpine Europe from to , but did not include northern Italy. THIS PAGE, LEFT: A reconstruction of the main of an oppidum. The clothing and structure of the walls are based on archaeological finds and classical descriptions. BELOW: A plan of Villeneuve-St.- Germain showing the enigmatic perpendicular ditches. BOTTOM: A reconstruction of the covered ditches at Villeneuve-St.-Germain. PLAN AND BOTTOM RIGHT ILLUSTRATION ;

By Elizabeth Hamilton BEEBE BAHRAMI TheThe : THE ENDURING ILLUSTRATION PUZZLE OF ,

THE OPPIDA THIS PAGE ; ELIZABETH HAMILTON

: GROWTH AND CHANGE IN SETTLEMENTS

MAP The Early Iron Age, the Hallstatt C-D Period (700 B.C.–450 ; CeltsCelts B.C.), was characterized by wealthy “princely” graves and for- andand urbanizationurbanization tified , the most elaborate of which is described by Bettina Arnold on page 8. From about 450 B.C. to 200 B.C., LUXEMBOURG , though, most people settled in undefended lowland villages.

() ART l ’ rchaeologists have speculated for decades about the role of Londiniuml This period saw the introduction and spread of the La Tène Celtic settlements called oppida, because they fit only loosely art style, after which the Middle and Late Iron Age period is Ribemont-sur-Ancre named. This swirling, almost hallucinogenic style of orna- hills, in river bends, or at

into the category we call “urban.” Unlike the people of the HISTOIRE ET D

l ’ Gournay ment is widely associated with Celtic-speaking people (see the edges of swamps. In Middle East, who possessed large cities such as Ur, Babylon, l Titelberg Závist l l Stradonice l Bernard Wailes’ article on page 26), and by the end of the third most cases, they were Lutetia l Villeneuve-St.-Germain l and Tyre, among many others, the people of Europe north () century B.C. it is found from Central Anatolia to Ireland and new establishments, and of the Alps preferred to cluster in small villages or hillforts, l l l l Hrazany Stare Hradisko from southern France to southern Poland. Although Celtic often the low-lying with their ritual sites out in the countryside. During most of ()l l l Manching MUSÉE NATIONAL D l l , speakers certainly did not occupy all of this wide area, the unfortified villages near the Bronze and Iron Ages, both southwest Asia and Europe (Mont Beuvray) rapidity of the spread and the similarity of the ornaments and them were abandoned. north of the Alps were densely populated, socially stratified,

l METZLER

. vessels found so many miles apart are a testament to the wide- Presumably the popula-

Gergovia J Aand crossed by established trade networks, but only in the : spread trading networks of the Celtic world. tion moved into the new B C last two centuries . . do we see what may have been the In the second century B.C. we see the abrupt reappearance oppida. At the same time first towns north of the Alps, the oppida. Although these of the fortified hilltop site, but on a much vaster scale. The we see signs of greatly PHOTOGRAPH were the largest and most complex sites in temperate Europe , wall of the Hallstatt Period Heuneberg in enclosed increased trade with the before the coming of the Romans, their scale remained an area of 7.5 hectares (18 acres); in contrast, the wall of Mediterranean world, modest, and the question of why they did not become l the Heidengraben in southern Germany covers 1,500 especially in wine and Rome cities continues to be a puzzle. OPPOSITE PAGE hectares (3,705 acres). The sites are located on prominent drinking equipment.

20 VOLUME 45, NUMBER 1 EXPEDITION WWW.MUSEUM.UPENN.EDU/PUBLICATIONS 21 The of these new and Stradonice (Bohemia), what seem to be workshops and a settlements were massive. Even today, craft areas are found clustered on the main road near the gate. WHAT IS AN OPPIDUM ? 2,000 years after the abandonment of Here the bronze and iron smiths, the workers in bone and Two sources tell us about oppida: the archaeological the defenses, the earthen of leather, and the makers of fine pottery and glass would have record and written records, especially those of Julius the Titelberg in Luxembourg stands their shops and sell their wares. Caesar. Indeed, the word oppidum comes from Caesar’s 10 meters high and 40 to 50 meters Passing the workshop area, you would emerge not into a The Battle for , where he refers to fortified Gallic wide at the base. The exact type of dense network of public buildings and assembly areas but strongholds. Oppidum simply means “town” in , and defense varied geographically, but into streets lined with small houses and palisaded enclosures its usage implies that Caesar recognized similarities the type described by Caesar, the containing one or two houses, along with granaries, storage pits, between the oppida and the town centers familiar to him , or Gallic wall, con- and probably stock pens for chickens, pigs, and other domestic from the Roman world. sisted of an earthen rampart with animals. In their layout, the enclosures and the buildings within Unfortunately for us, Caesar was not writing a cultural internal timber lacing fastened were very like the isolated farmsteads found in the countryside. account but a war report largely composed for propaganda together with thousands of long Often traces of craft production are found within these enclo- and to justify his invasions. Also, Caesar was observing the iron spikes. The timber-laced ram- sures. Most of the rest of the land enclosed by the defensive Gallic landscape during a time of trauma (that he caused), part was then faced with stone ramparts would be used for farming and pasture. so what he reports may not have been representative of blocks. It has been estimated that it In a few sites there is evidence for what may be public build- the oppida 10 years earlier. In addition, his use of the term took 200,000–435,000 working hours ings. In Villeneuve-Saint-Germain (France), the oppidum is oppida is inconsistent; when describing his British cam- to construct the 5-kilometer-long A reconstruction of crossed by two intersecting trenches, 500 and 300 meters long, paigns, he uses it to refer to smaller fortified sites with no murus gallicus around the oppidum Complex B at Manching 1.4 meters deep, and 2 meters wide, dividing the site into four permanent population. of Bibracte (Mont Beuvray, France). unequal areas. Rows of postholes follow the trenches, showing To better solve the oppidum puzzle, we must rely upon In most cases these huge walls enclosed an area far larger the Celtic states from those in the Mediterranean is that the that they were covered by a wooden structure. Many traces of archaeology. English-speaking archaeologists define an than was actually inhabited. It has always been assumed Celtic states were tribal, not based on a city-state. A city-state fibulae (brooches) in various stages of manufacture are found oppidum as a site from 20 to over 1,000 hectares large from Caesar’s accounts that these oppida served as refuges is a fixed territory; a tribal state is based on a potentially near the covered trenches. Other areas nearby have traces of (1 hectare=2.47 acres) that is entirely surrounded by for the rural population in times of war, and thus in normal movable population and can include many political and eco- fur and leather working. Were these enigmatic covered trench- fortifications, both natural (rivers, cliffs, and swamps) and times would have had a great deal of excess land. But what is nomic centers. Caesar noted that each tribe possessed es the site of workshops or markets? constructed. (French archaeologists use oppidum to refer to puzzling is that in some cases the walls enclose an area so numerous oppida, and while some oppida were described as In Manching (Germany), the area known as Complex B any of this period.) Often located on high ground, large as to be indefensible. Clearly more is involved than especially beautiful or important, none was described as a was a giant enclosed area some 80 meters on one side and sur- the oppida have a commanding view of the surrounding straightforward defense. Perhaps the walls of the oppida political center. Indeed, though few oppida have undergone rounded on three sides by streets. The enclosure contained terrain. We find sites of this kind from the Czech Republic to reflect a trend seen in many Late Iron Age structures from broad horizontal excavations, it is rare to find large public seven long houses; the longest two were 44 meters long and 6 southern France to southern Britain. Some of these sites, MUNICH

palisaded farmsteads to ditched and palisaded ritual sites: buildings or even areas of public assembly in those that have , meters wide. The roofed wall around the complex was pierced such as Bibracte in France, Manching in Germany, and a concern with boundaries, a desire to definitively mark been excavated. Caesar noted that particular oppida were the at one point by a gate and a guardroom. The purpose of this Stradonice in Bohemia, had dense permanent populations terrain and separate categories of territory. Likewise, the dependencies of certain nobles, which is in keeping with the complex is unknown. Was it an aristocratic residence? Were of several thousand and were clearly centers of industrial

wall builders could have also have been concerned with oligarchic nature of the polity. When the coins produced in HGESCHICHTE the buildings warehouses for trade goods? production. Others, such as Kelheim in and Závist Ü display, a sort of “our wall is bigger” competition. the oppida and other sites are inscribed, the name they bear Inside the oppidum would be cult areas as well. The forms in Bohemia, seem to have been only thinly populated.

is not a tribal name, or even a town name, but the name of UND FR vary, but most contain elements of enclosures, ritual Most oppida were located near trade routes or natural - THE OPPIDA AND POLITICS the issuing magistrate or chieftain. deposits in ditches, and sometimes human sacrifice. resources, especially iron ore. There is evidence that certain RVOR

The classical writers, especially Caesar, described Celtic soci- Ü Frequently what appear to be ritual deposits of human and oppida specialized in the production of various goods, such ety as highly stratified and oppressive. The only two groups LIFE IN THE OPPIDA animal bones and broken weapons are found in the ditches. as salt, fine pottery, and glass. Many oppida produced both who counted were the nobles and the druids, who acted as What would we see if we were to walk into an oppidum? Gournay-sur-Aronde in France has an enclosure with raw iron and finished iron and steel articles that were highly religious leaders and judges. The common people were at the There is no typical oppidum, but we will take as examples sides 40 meters long and with a that concealed regarded in Rome for their quality. Many of the oppida pro- bottom, regarded almost as slaves, with no voice in affairs, several of the largest and most prominent. the interior from the populace. Found in the were duced coins. But to add to the confusion, some unfortified and serving the nobles in a patron-client relationship. We The site would be completely surrounded by walls of earth hundreds of deliberately broken weapons, many bones of sites were clearly large industrial centers as well, and also know that some , the Celtic peoples of what is now and stone, topped by a wooden palisade. The walls would large animals, and the bones of 12 decapitated humans. In many produced coins. Nor is it clear from excavations France, were traders and specialist craftspeople who may have one or more massive pincer gates topped by a watch- an enclosure at Ribemont-sur-Ancre (France), an entire how much even the well-populated oppida would have have owed some allegiance to a noble but who probably tower and designed to control the flow of people in and out. structure was built of the long bones of some 200 people, conformed to our definition of urban, which usually

conducted much of their craft work independently. The oppidum is bisected by an unpaved main street that leads OLOGISCHE STAATSAMMLUNG MUSEUM F mostly young men. In the Titelberg (Luxembourg) a ritual assumes that the site was, first, a center of public or Ä It is likely that some of the Celtic tribal polities had from the main gate to a gate on the other side; other straight area covering at least a third of the site was demarcated by a administrative life, second, occupied permanently by at ARCH reached the status of states at the time of Caesar’s invasion, streets, evidence of a planned layout, cross the main road. In : trench; inside is an enclosure marked by ditches containing least 1,000 people, and third, divided into zones with

especially the tribes of central France. What differentiates some oppida such as Bibracte (Mont Beuvray), and Závist RIGHT numerous fibulae and coins. different functions.

22 VOLUME 45, NUMBER 1 EXPEDITION WWW.MUSEUM.UPENN.EDU/PUBLICATIONS 23 The rural character of these settlements is Front face of a Celtic gold coin showing no towns were to reappear here The striking. The buildings are of wood and the characteristic La Tène process of for another thousand years. disintegration and Celticization of at Kelheim today thatched with straw. Structures, Thus, for a variety of rea- Classical motifs. with exceptions such as Complex sons, the first native trans- B at Manching, were not alpine European settlements densely packed together. Sainte-Reine) and Avaricum that could be called towns Most households probably (Bourges) fell to Roman came to an end. Archaeological produced their own food engines, in campaigns that sites the size of the oppida do and crafts, and even the took all of Caesar’s might not disappear when they are specialist craftspeople and engineering skills. abandoned: They remain and probably grew crops and Most of the oppida in enter the mythology of the grazed animals. Few set- Gaul, however, were aban- people who live around them, tlements had imposing doned without signs of even in the modern day. In the monumental structures destruction in the first few last two centuries, several of as a central focus. decades after the Caesarian the oppida of France (Alésia, invasion. There are no signs of Bibracte, and Gergovia) have THE END OF THE OPPIDA any deliberate attempt by the been used by French leaders If our reference were Caesar’s Roman government to depopu- from Napoleon III to Jean- The Battle for Gaul, we would late the oppida. Instead, it seems that Marie Le Pen as foci for the assume that all the oppida ended in most of the oppida were artificial con- culture of “Frenchness,” as fire and blood. Some certainly did: The structs: They were erected by chieftains monuments where Gallic civi-

oppida in France of Lutetia (Paris), Gergovia belonging to rapidly centralizing polities in a lization and communal identity were created. Even though (Gergovie), and others were burned by the Gauls to response to the threat of intertribal warfare. Because FOR FURTHER READING they were depopulated 2,000 years ago, all across temperate prevent the Romans from seizing them. Alésia (Alice- defense was the main purpose of most of the oppida, most Europe these enigmatic monumental oppida continue to live, were built in high, inconvenient positions, some even with- Audouze, Françoise and Olivier Büchsenschütz. Towns, capturing the modern imagination. a out adequate provisions of water. After the Roman conquest, Villages and Countryside of Celtic Europe: From the with intertribal warfare suppressed, there was little need to beginning of the second millennium to the end of the first Elizabeth Hamilton received her Ph.D. from the University of The Greeks of Asia Minor manufactured the first coins maintain these massive defensive sites. Many continued to be century B.C. Translated by H. Cleere. Bloomington, IN: Pennsylvania in 1995, doing her dissertation work on changes in the seventh century B.C. These coins were of gold or occupied and even flourished until roughly 20 B.C., when Indiana University Press, 1992. in the copper-working industry at the Titelberg, one of the silver, suitable for taxes, tribute, dowries, and payments Augustan Rome, finally stable after the power struggle that few oppida to have been to mercenaries. As a result of this last use, the coins followed Caesar’s assassination, could turn its attention to its Caesar, Julius. The Battle for Gaul [51–58 B.C.] Translated by occupied from the Late began to appear in temperate Europe in the fourth neglected possession. But with the establishment of newer Anne and Peter Wiseman. London: Book Club Associates, Iron Age through the century B.C., when the were in high demand as mer- settlements on the plains and near trade routes, most of the 1980. Roman period. Titled cenaries for the chronic wars of the Hellenistic kingdoms. high-ground oppida were abandoned. Those that remained Technology and Social In the third century, homegrown imitations of these coins in use either were on low ground, such as Lutetia, or had been Collis, John. Oppida: Earliest towns north of the Alps. Change in Belgic Gaul: began to be manufactured north of the Alps. Huge num- important more for administration than defense, such as Sheffield. Department of Prehistory and Archaeology, Copper Working at the bers of these coins have survived—a single hoard may Bibracte (Mont Beuvray). A few, such as the Titelberg, University of Sheffield, 1984. Titelberg, Luxembourg, contain more than 10,000 coins. They were made to a con- remained in use but dwindled into a vicus, a village. 125 B.C.–A.D. 300, this work

sistent weight, representing standardized currency values. The oppida in the lands not conquered by Caesar were also MILLER Dietler, Michael. “A Tale of Three Sites:The monumental- is published as a MASCA . (They were also quite rapidly forged and debased, showing depopulated. The oppida of Bohemia and southern Germany ization of Celtic oppida and the politics of collective (Museum Applied Science that shady business practices are as old as business itself.) had been the earliest in Europe. Manching, one of the largest memory and identity.” World Archaeology 30(1) (1998): Center for Archaeology) NAOMI F Most Celtic coins, as with all coins in the Mediter- and best excavated, was abandoned a generation before the : 72–89. Monograph. She has exca-

ranean, were die stamped. Unique to the Celts were B C RIGHT

Roman invasion of 15 . ., with no evidence of violence. In ; vated in sites in the United cast bronze coins, used for small payments. The Celts Bohemia, though, the gates of oppida such as Hrazany and Fichtl, Stephan. La ville celtique: Les oppida de 150 av. J.-C. States, Europe, Egypt, and possessed small-value coins by the early first cen- Závist were destroyed by burning, and the sites were aban- à 15 ap. J.-C. Paris: Editions Errance, 2000. India, and has taught tury B.C., well before the Romans did, arguing that a doned in the last years of the first century B.C. The new mate- courses at Penn in archaeology, ancient metalworking, and the true market economy — market goods in exchange for rial culture in this area had affinities with the Germanic Wells, Peter. Farms, Villages, and Cities: Commerce and anthropology of war. She is currently a researcher in the Ban

money — appeared in the Celtic oppida decades before culture around the Elbe. The historical sources say that the ELIZABETH HAMILTON Urban Origins in Late Prehistoric Europe. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Chiang Project at the University of Pennsylvania Museum, : TOP it did in the Mediterranean. Germanic invaded this area around 10 B.C., and BEEBE BAHRAMI University Press, 1984. studying the development of prehistoric Thai metalworking.

24 VOLUME 45, NUMBER 1 EXPEDITION WWW.MUSEUM.UPENN.EDU/PUBLICATIONS 25