Pendant Pic: The Elpais Site

A pendant some 25,000-years old has been found in northern Spain’s Basque region by archaeologists.  The piece, an oblong gray smooth stone some 10 centimeters in length, is perforated at one end and apparently was hung from a cord around a person’s neck, according to the director of the excavation, Alvaro Arrizabalaga, who added that the other end of the stone was used as a tool to retouch the edges of tools made from flint, like arrows or scrapers.   The object comes from the Cromagnon epoch.   Arrizabalaga said that the pendant is older than other such items found so far in the Praileaitz cave which are estimated to be some 15,000 years old.

In addition, he said that there have been “some 20 pieces from this same epoch” found on the Iberian peninsula to date, with the peculiar unifying element that they have always been found in caves.

“The piece is very well preserved and we’ve been lucky to be able to remove it without damaging it in any way” from the dig near the town of Zestoa.”

Arrizabalaga said.

The dig leader said the pendant “is not going to need any more restoration”, and after experts study it and include it in the collection of Cromagnon discoveries found at the site, it will be placed in the hands of a public museum.

“Twenty-five thousand years ago, human beings of our species came to this place that functioned as a hunting place for wandering groups”

the archaeologist said, adding that the groups of humans

“moved eight times per year to zones where there were specific types of resources”.

The Irikaitz deposit, where archaeologists began working in 1998, is known for being the site of discoveries of pieces up to 250,000 years old, a period when the precursors of Homo sapiens were still in existence.

The Celtic Connection

Why have we included this fascinating archaeological find on our website, you may ask? It goes along with our philosophy of understanding the Ancient Celts from both before and after their heyday. The Celtic tribes came from somewhere – they evolved from other peoples  - and they went somewhere. We know much of their path into today’s world and how they are celebrated with festivals, tradition, clothes and music today but we know little of the time before the Halstatt and La Tène periods.

This pendant was found on the Iberian peninsula – a land known to be lived in by later Celts and by being dated back to 25,000 B.C.E. we begin to learn how ancient and widespread human culture was thousands of years ago. We find it fascinating.

———————————

You can also now download a Celtic Myth Podshow App from the iTunes store. This is the most convenient and reliable way to access the Celtic Myth Podshow on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You’re always connected to the latest episode, and our App users have access to exclusive bonus content, just touch and play! To find out more visit the iTunes Store or our Descripition Page.
You can now also find an Android version of the App which works identically to the iPhone version. You can find it on Appbrain at http://www.appbrain.com/app/celtic-myth-show/tv.wizzard.android.celticmythpodshow841 or by using the QR code opposite.
If you come to the site and listen or listen from one of our players – have you considered subscribing? It’s easy and you automatically get the episodes on your computer when they come out. If you’re unsure about the whole RSS/Subscribing thing take a look at our Help page.

Pic: Pretanic World

Historically the picture we have of the Druids is almost entirely due to people who traded with the Celts, such as the Greeks, or to the people who fought against them, such as the Romans. Sadly, it is for the main part, during the downfall of the Celts, in Roman occupied Gaul, that we hear the most about the Druids. The Celts, though never a united force, were the first masters of Europe. Their influence stretching from the North western fringes of Greece, across the top of Northern Italy and into Spain. Going up into Austria, Southern Germany, Gaul and Scandinavia and finally the British Isles. It is generally agreed that the Celts evolved from populations already resident in Europe during the Bronze Age, from earlier Indo-European tribes.

The Celts first get a mention by name in the sixth century BCE when a Greek, Hecateus, states that the Celts were neighbours of the Ligurians, and that a remarkable feature of their society is the social structure, which was a hallmark of that society. However, it is not until 200 BCE that the Druids get a mention, by another Greek called Sotion. His work ‘Succession of Philosophers’ was lost, but a reference was preserved by another writer Diogenes Laertius: There are among the Keltae and Galatae those called Druids and Semnotheoi…’ (Semnotheoi were presumably Galatian priests).

That the Druids were known to the outside world by 200 BCE would suggest that they were already a powerful, well established group amongst their own people, with wide ranging powers. The reports from Julius Caesar in his ‘Gallic Wars’ (sixth book) certainly agree on this point.

The Celts who had continued their migration into Britain and Ireland became separated and isolated for many centuries from the Celts of Gaul. Language, culture and religion developed along different lines, and Druidism, as pictured in native records, was in Ireland considerably different from that of Gaul. The religion of the pagan Irish is commonly designated ‘Druidism’ and in the oldest Irish legends the Druids figure conspicuously. Continue Reading »

Pic by Bern’t Rostad   Castro Barona

Northern Spain and Galicia particularly has long been an undiscovered jewel in the whole of the Spanish tourism industry. All over Northern Spain the climate is much more moderate than the rest of the Iberian Peninsula and the autonomous regions that make up this area of the country have exactly what it takes to help visiting tourists have a good time. With regards to Galicia you have a region where you have a rugged coastline with extremely attractive sandy beaches whilst inland the mountainous regions provide a completely different experience for the visitor.

Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain it is understandable given its location that Galicia is considered the most remote. Galicia is a region of contrasts in that in the one extreme you have a rugged beautiful coastline mixed with gorgeous beaches whilst inland you have beautiful mountain scenery.

As well as beautiful scenery in Galicia you have excellent cuisine especially the seafood whilst at the same time you have right on your doorstep one of the most visited religious pilgrimage sites in the world at Santiago de Compostela. This particular pilgrimage site has actually generated a vast tourist industry all of its own that is vital to the economic viability of the region.

The Galicians, whose origins are Celtic, are fiercely proud of their culture and language.

Historically, always classed as the poorer cousin to some of the other richer regions Galicia had an economy that did not easily lend itself to modernisation. It absorbed little in the way of outside influence being fiercely resistant to all forms of outside intervention, was never conquered by the Moors, and in the Middle Ages fell under the control of the kingdom of Asturias. Apart from a brief interlude in the 11th and 10th centuries when Galicia fell briefly under the rule of the kingdom of Asturias, Galicia has always been an independent region.

One of the problems with Galicia as with some of the other remote communities in Western Europe lies within its geographical constraints. As with a lot of the major Celtic communities in Western Europe after a while the major industry became emigration. Thankfully slowly throughout the 20th century Galicia has begun to develop a way in which to manage the traditional lifestyles with a modern community to ensure that none of its rich history is lost. The port cities of and Corunna which are widely appreciated to be centres of culture and industry within Galicia.

As befits a province that has such reliance on the sea, the seafood here is amongst the best in Spain and fishing is vital to the economy. As well as the major ports the coastline of Galicia is dotted with tiny little fishing villages. The coast which was devastated by the damage caused by the 2002 sinking of the oil tanker Prestige has now by almost recovered and in some cases is almost better than ever.

The major geographical point on the Galician coastline is probably Cape Finisterre which is the westernmost part of the Spanish mainland. Inland the region is dotted with ancient Celtic settlements which can be found in the often mist shrouded hillsides. At road junctions and in towns throughout the region stand various old stone crosses and in the villages old stone granaries are quite commonplace.

The whole Celtic culture in Galicia is completed by the sound of the favourite instrument of Galicia, the bag pipes and their language, Gallego, is an amalgam almost of Portuguese and the various other Gaelic tongues and there is an extremely strong link between Galicia and some of the other Celtic Countries of North Western Europe. Again this love of the arts and culture is very similar with other Celtic regions. This is further exemplified with the slight theme of melancholy running through quite often the words and music of the region. For those who find this a concept difficult to understand and view it as being purely depressing and boring then you have to try and understand the traditional background to the entire region and realize the centuries of hardship that these communities have had to withstand and as a result have manifested themselves in their traditional words music.

Author:

Stephen Morgan writes about a great many Internet Travel based issues and more on the above can be found at Accommodation in Galicia . For a more complete overlook at Tourism in Galicia try http://www.turgalicia.es

Terms: Articles may be reprinted provided content is not edited and links are kept live
Source: www.articledepot.co.uk

One of our listeners Vincent F. Pintado contacted us recently to let us know about The Gallaic Rivival Movement, and the “Atebivota Dictionary” project.  Vincent is the founder of this movement and project. He spent nearly thirty years living in Spain deciphering Celtiberian inscriptions for the Old Celtic Dictionary and The Atebivota Dictionary Project, and now lives in Arizona U.S.A

In his own words Vincent tells us about his project

Gallaic  Revival  Movement

The Gallaic Revival Movement is sponsored by the Liga Celtiga Galaica (the Galician Celtic League) in Galicia, Spain. The “Atebivota Dictionary” project is based on the reconstruction of the Q-Celtic Gallaic-Goidelic language once spoken by the ancient Gallaeci in Galicia, Spain circa 600-100 A.D. Continue Reading »

Pic: Wikipedia

The name Galicia comes from the Latin name Gallaecia, associated with the name of the ancient Celtic tribe that resided above the Douro river, the Gallaeci or Callaeci in Latin, and Kallaikoi in Greek (these tribes were mentioned by Herodotus). Before the Roman invasion, a series of tribes lived in the region, and according to Strabo, Pliny, Herodotus and others, they shared similar Celtic customs. The Milesians, who in Irish legendary history were the final wave of invaders to settle Ireland, were Celts from Galicia. [Wiki]

Overall of all of the autonomous regions of Spain possibly Galicia is the most remote and this makes Northern Galicia even more of an undiscovered treasure. Continue Reading »

The Ebro Valley, North Eastern Spain

The homeland of the Celt- Iberians lay in the north-eastern part of Iberia stretching from the southern flank of the Ebro Valley to the Eastern Meseta. To the north lay the territory of the Urnfield culture, to the west the loosely linked communities of the Atlantic Bronze Age, while to the east and south, along the Mediterranean fringe, the distinctive Iberian culture was soon to emerge as contacts with the east Mediterranean states intensified. The Celt-Iberian zone therefore lay on three peripheries and inevitably benefited by absorbing cultural elements from all three.

The harshness of parts of the territory,  particularly the plains of the Meseta, desiccated during the summer months, necessitated a degree of movement in the pastoral economy. The flocks and herds were taken to upland mountain pastures before the heat came and were brought down again in autumn. Such conditions allowed a gradual increase in population and led to the emergence of an elite reflected in a series of rich graves furnished with short swords, spears, and round shields, redolent of the warrior-based nature of society.

The principal burial rite was urned cremation, adopted from the Urnfield cultural zone to the north-east, but other elements came from the south and east, including geometric painted pottery, fibulae with two-part springs, and belt hooks, all characteristic of Tartessian culture. The short antennae-hilted iron sword was, however, a development specific to the north, extending, with regional variations’ over the Celt-Iberian area and the Ebro Valley, and across the Pyrenees into Languedoc and Aquitania.

From the sixth century BC the influence of stimuli from the cultures of the Mediterranean littoral and the developing Iberian hinterland intensified. By the fourth century the Celt-Iberians were using rotary querns and the potter’s wheel. Celt-Iberian script, derived from Iberian, was in use by the third century, and large oppida-like settlements-again probably an Iberian inspiration-began to develop at about the same time or a little later.

To what extent Celt-Iberian culture received significant influences from the La Tene cultural zone it is difficult to say.  A scatter of La Tene artefacts have been found in Iberia, most notably the collection of third-century weapons from the burial at Quintana de Gormaz, which included a scabbard decorated with dragon pairs. This array of material shows that contacts existed with communities north of the Pyrenees, but it need not imply anything more than processes of gift exchange. Nor does the adoption of the torc as an item of prestige display mean more than a sharing of belief or value systems. The silver torcs of the Meseta and the gold torcs of the north-west are distinctively Celt -Iberian in style, as are the widely distributed horse-and-rider fibulae.

The possibility that groups of La Tene Celts may have moved south into Celtiberian lands  as raiders, settlers, or mercenaries, cannot, however, be ruled out. Celtic war bands may have attached themselves to the incursion of the Cimbri in 104 BC and Caesar specifically mentions the arrival in Lerida, in 49 BC, of 6,000 Gauls, including Gallic cavalry, Ruthenian archers, and their families. The contribution of these and other possible intruders to Celtiberian culture seems to have been minimal.

Source