For Yous Data - 'The Celts' At Prague National Museum

H5N1 novel exhibition seat together past times Prague’s National Museum traces the around 500 yr history of the Celts every bit the dominant civilization across most of Europe. It draws on 1 of the richest collections of Celtic artefacts inwards Europe, which is held past times the museum, too showcases some of the recent thinking nearly this Iron Age civilisation.

Sculpted limestone caput from Mšecké Žehrovice [Credit: Prague National Museum]

The Celts convey had a wretched press over the centuries, tarnished past times Roman too specially Julius Caesar’s accounts of them. But enquiry over the concluding decades has begun to laid upwardly a really unlike motion painting of a rich too advanced civilisation. And some of the novel thinking straightaway places the Celtic presence inwards Bohemia at the centre of that civilisation rather than at the periphery. So who were the Celts? That’s a query seat to Viktoria Čist’aková, who helped to pattern the exhibition. She says the Celtic basis was various too non slow to define:

ʺTheir sentiment of ethnicity or ethnogenesis started earlier. So nosotros convey to come upwardly dorsum to Hallstatt period. So it’s from the 8th till the 5th century BC when it started. It’s genuinely difficult to honor the exact house which nosotros tin connect amongst these tribes. It’s non simply 1 tribe. Kelts or Celts is a full general sentiment non simply 1 tribe which occupied an surface area from the Czechia to Britain. There are enough of unlike tribes. Maybe they did non fifty-fifty position themselves every bit Celts. That is why it is genuinely a tricky question.ʺ

Bronze belt buckle from Želkovice [Credit: Prague National Museum]

As some stages the Celts were spread through large parts of what is straightaway Turkey, the Balkans, Central Europe, Northern Italy, too across France, Germany, the British Isles too Spain. Viktoria Čist’aková again:

ʺNowadays nosotros convey fifty-fifty novel linguistic enquiry that connected Keltic or Celtic languages amongst an surface area of Spain, too thus it’s quite interesting. However, Kingdom of Spain is on the periphery of the Celtic world. So nosotros are non certain if at that spot were Celts, nosotros cannot hold upwardly certain that they were definitely Celts. Maybe they did non speak the Celtic languages similar nosotros know them today every bit Irish Gaelic too Scottish [Gaelic]. So the Celtic basis is 1 of complexity.ʺ

Richly painted ceramic vessel from a princely tomb inwards Straškov - Račiněves
[Credit: Prague National Museum]

And spell a few decades ago, Bohemia mightiness convey been seat at the periphery of the Celtic world, it’s straightaway seen every bit much to a greater extent than at the centre amongst a highly developed local artistic too cultural life too bear witness of merchandise routes too relations stretching every bit far every bit Hellenic Republic too fifty-fifty to Africa.

ʺIf you lot had asked me this query 10 years agone I would definitely convey told you lot it was the periphery. But if you lot seat together lots of finds that were made inwards the concluding 100 years, nosotros tin definitely state that Bohemia, business office of the Czech Republic, was at the centre of the appearance of early on Celtic art. So nosotros convey masterpieces of Celtic fine art that could hold upwardly compared amongst the finds from Republic of Austria or Germany. So nosotros are definitely non at the periphery. So I am talking nearly the menstruum from the 5th to the 6th century BC too if you lot larn to the afterwards period, the menstruum of Oppida. We every bit good convey quite impressive settlements too village construction too thus nosotros can’t state nosotros are at the periphery.ʺ

Bronze helmet amongst geometric decorations, Střelské Hoštice (near Strakonice), Rovná (near Strakonice)
[Credit: Prague National Museum]

History, every bit they say, is written past times the victors. And inwards this context inwards Western Europe inwards the minute too showtime centuries BC it was clearly the Romans who were doing the writing. And they were frequently nifty to portray the Celts every bit a barbarian people, specially given the Celtic organized religious belief which included human sacrifice.

ʺThe Roman sentiment of barbarians, they called them barbarian people. Usually if you lot telephone outcry upwardly them barbarian you lot are connecting them amongst wearing genuinely bad clothing too they are muddied for example. But that is nonsense. Their lodge had a genuinely high score of development, they had coins for example. It is comparable, they yet used the ancient Roman or Greek civilisation every bit inspiration. They used lots of imports, non simply similar our imported things but every bit good ideas. But the basis of the Celts was extremely rich, non simply inwards price of coins, but every bit good inwards price of civilization too fifty-fifty crafts. They were able to arrive at genuinely magnificent things every bit jewellery or glass. You tin encounter at this exhibition videos nearly experimental archeology too fifty-fifty nowadays modern people convey problems to practise replicas of Celtic jewellery. Celtic fine art is genuinely impressive for us nowadays. It is genuinely magnificent too beautiful.ʺ

Gold band from Hořovicko [Credit: Prague National Museum]

The centrepiece of the National Museum exhibition is a sculpted limestone caput institute at an advanced Celtic village around 65 kilometres north-west of Prague. Some believe it mightiness hold upwardly a representation of a nobleman or peradventure a fellow member of the religious hierarchy, such every bit a Druid.

ʺIt is 1 of the most realistic, 1 of the most beautiful representations of Celtic art. It’s non realistic actually, you lot can’t imagine that variety of representation from Samothracia or Roman sculpture. But inwards our context it’s in all probability the most beautiful representation of the human appear upwardly inwards the Celtic world.ʺ

Three types of pike caput from Velké Čírovice too Letky
[Credit: Prague National Museum]

Much of the remainder of the exhibition draws on simply a fraction of the National Museum’s collection of finds too treasures. The exhibition goes much farther though too seeks to laid upwardly a motion painting of everyday Celtic life every bit well. Viktoria Čist’aková:

ʺThe most interesting thing, at to the lowest degree for me, is food. So hither nosotros convey some variety of examples of crops that were cultivated during the La Téne period. How practise nosotros know nearly it? We telephone outcry upwardly it archaeobiology too during excavations nosotros tin convey some analysis too person could tell you lot nearly the plants that were cultivated. Using your imagination too this cognition too combining it together, I convey tried to write a recipe telling you lot how to laid a dish from the Celtic menstruum or from a Celtic household. Here, it’s the sentiment how the ordinary work solid too equipment could expect like. It’s non simply nearly the vessels but every bit good nearly the metallic items, such every bit keys for example. We convey lots of keys from Celtic settlements. Even hither you lot tin displace a door, nosotros convey made a replica from the Závist oppidum, too you lot tin displace to opened upwardly or lock the door amongst a Celtic key. So, it’s quite interesting or fun.ʺ

Bronze anklets amongst moulded decorations from Kšely, Prague-Dolní Chabry, Plaňany too Bečov
[Credit: Prague National Museum]

Wheat was the primary crop, though a type of wheat which was around one-half the size of today’s cereal. The diet would hold upwardly supplemented past times herbs, honey, fruit, and, rarely, meat. Celtic households are sentiment to convey been fairly small. Their lifespan was past times modern standards curt amongst many women dying inwards childbirth:

ʺWe don’t know how many people were inwards 1 family, it’s quite hard. The households were smaller too thus nosotros tin imagine 1 work solid for 1 small-scale household unit of measurement or smaller family. As regards their life bridge or age, it’s quite a tricky query but based on the anthropological bear witness from the bones, the women commonly lived to around 35 years too for the males it’s twoscore to 42.ʺ

Bronze chain belts amongst enamel inserts from Stradonice close Louny too Telce
[Credit: Prague National Museum]

By the minute century BC the Celtic basis was nether pressure. It was existence squeezed inwards the Danube valley past times the Dacians, inwards the S too due west of Europe past times the Romans, too inwards the due east past times the Germanic tribes. And it was these Germanic tribes that posed 1 of the primary threats to the Bohemian civilisation. But hither again, to a greater extent than recent thinking propose the collapse of Celtic civilisation was much to a greater extent than complicated than the arrival of some novel tribes from the east:

ʺOn our territory it’s connected amongst the novel moving ridge of Germanic tribes that are coming at that spot from the middle of the showtime century BC too the sentiment was that they destroyed Oppida. However, nowadays nosotros convey novel ideas nearly the collapse of the Celtic civilisation, at to the lowest degree on the Bohemian territory, too it is economical. Maybe nosotros tin connect it amongst some problems of Oppida that it was a genuinely high toll projection to laid these genuinely huge settlements. So it’s something that tin hold upwardly connected amongst the economical situation. And after that at that spot was a genuinely novel moving ridge of settlements connected amongst the Germanic tribes. They genuinely come. It was non genuinely peaceful but it was coexistence of the concluding Celts too the showtime Germanic tribes on our surface area inwards Bohemia.ʺ

Celtic gilt coins from a deposit inwards Starý Kolín [Credit: Prague National Museum]

Viktoria Čist’aková is fairly dismissive of the German linguistic communication tribes that came to crush too largely supervene upon the Celts:

ʺActually they were non advanced. Their cultural score was much lower compared amongst the Celtic civilisation. Comparing their crafts, they were definitely a type of barbarians. Maybe they were to a greater extent than aggressive. Again, the Celtic civilisation hither was exhausted.ʺ

The exhibition runs until Feb 24, 2019.

Author: Chris Johnstone | Source: Czech Radio [May 30, 2018]


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