Garam Éva szerk.: Between East and West - History of the peoples living in hungarian lands (Guide to the Archaeological Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum; Budapest, 2005)

HALL 5 - The Celts (450 B.C.-turn of the millennium) (Miklós Szabó)

52. Unprovenanced iron spearhead with engraved decoration. Later 4th century B.C. discovered in 1853 near Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland. The Late Iron Age Celtic or La Tène culture, which had a lasting impact on European history, emerged around 450 B.C. Greek and Roman historians have recorded most major events of Celtic history in their works. The cultural unity of temperate Europe from the British Isles to Carpatho-Ukraine was achieved in the wake of the Celtic expansion. Most scholars regard this process as a relatively peaceful colonisation leading to the co-existence and the cultural mixing of the Celts arriving from the west with local population groups. One of the most significant technical revolutions in Europe took place in the Celtic metalworking centres of the Late Iron Age. The last phase of the La Tène period in temperate Europe saw the emergence of oppida, fortified hilltop settlements which can be interpreted as genuine towns. The transition to a monetary economy, the gradual adoption of writing (under the influence of Latin) held out the historical promise of attaining the same level of civilisation as the Mediterranean world. The Roman conquest of Europe, however, brought an abrupt end to this promising development. 12. THE SPREAD OF THE LA TÈNE CULTURE IN THE CARPATHIAN BASIN Recent excavations in the northwestern areas of the Carpathian Basin have brought to light find assemblages dating from the later 5th century B.C., documenting the spread of the La Tène culture and its gradual adoption by the local Iron Age communities. The finds from Pilismarót indicate the survival of Hallstatt bowls with homed handles into the early La Tène period, although the vessels were now wheel-turned. The bronze helmet from Slovakia and the iron sword with fanciful creatures on its scabbard recovered from the Danube at Visegrád are superb examples of early Celtic metalwork. Animal headed fibulae most likely made in a Transdanubian workshop (such as the ones from Szentendre and Liter) have also been found in North Balkanic Illyrian-Pannonian contexts. The absence of the rich princely burials typical for the early La Tène period is conspicuous: the jewellery from the female burial at Felsőrajk (a tore, fibulae and anklets) was fashioned from bronze. According to one interpretation, these sporadic finds reflect the infiltration of groups with a La Tène culture into the Carpathian Basin. This process can best be conceived as foreshadowing the eastward migration of the Celts. 13. GRAVE GOODS FROM THE 4TH CENTURY The historical data contained in the works of Pompeius Tragus and Livy would suggest that the main thrust of the so-called historic Celtic migration at the beginning of the 4th century B.C. was towards Italy and the western half of the Carpathian Basin. This is confirmed by the archaeological evidence: a series of new cemeteries were opened during the earlier 4th century in the western half of the Carpathian Basin (including Transdanubia), Moravia and Bohemia. These burial grounds