The Celts: Blood, Iron and Sacrifice

Episode 1

At the Gates of Rome

57 mins

*Our still traditional image of the Celts, as naked barbarians invading from central Europe, was construed from their victors, classical Rome, the only side which left writings and monuments to glorify its Hellenistic civilization. Recent archaeological finds however prove the Celtic cultures, like the one named after Hallstadt in Austria, also reached a respectable level of material, even artistic culture and trade long before its decisive duel with Rome started with tribal warlord Brennus's triumphant invasion over the Alps. Artefacts, trade routes and writings in adopted alphabets -having none themselves- suggest earlier contacts, notably with Phoenicians, and a plausible alternative their culture may have originated from the Atlantic west, where their languages survive, and spread east to the continent.