"Did Celtiberians even wear chainmail?" Topic

I've been researching the arms and appearance of Celtiberian warriors from around the period of Hannibal's War (late 3rd- early 2nd-century BC).

It has become apparent to me that the depiction of Celtiberians in chainmail, as well as other arms, that are featured in a number of miniature lines and early Ospreys (as above) isn't sustained by the archaeological findings since the 1980s, or from what I've been able to trawl of the ancient literature and vase paintings.

Archaeological-based studies by:
Fernando Quesada-Sanz's numerous papers (here's one: PDF link )
An essay on Celts and related peoples in Iberia link
A PhD thesis by Fiona Rose on Celtiberia link
and, a pretty substantial collection of essays here link
particularly, this paper by Gorbea and Lorrio link

don't make any mention of chainmail findings in sites or grave goods.

What they do find is that weapons were mainly the straight antenna sword (very few falcata) and lance heads.

Armour was predominantly the occasional disc breastplate and a larger round caetra and helmets appear to be pot-shaped until 200 BC, near the time of the Hannibalic War. The montefortino helmet and scutum starts to appear around the time of Barcid presence in Iberia in the late 3rd century and is only common in the 2nd century BC in Celtiberia.

Excavations of graves also show the caetra predominates well into the 2nd century BC.

So is it time to throw out the image of the Celtiberian scutarii mailed in chain and replace it with a largely unarmoured (occasionally with a circular breastplate) caetrati?

The mailed scutarius in the colour plate you reproduce is based on one of the Liria vases, usually regarded as Iberian, not Celtiberian –

Quesada Sanz sees the armour (if it is indeeed armour) and uniformity as reflecting late Punic or Roman influences, IIRC, perhaps even equipment issue to auxiliaries. Whether the pattern represents mail, scale, or is merely decorative, is unclear.

Neither Strabo nor Diodoros mentions mail in their brief accounts of Celtiberians:

They wear rough black cloaks, the wool of which resembles the hair of goats. As for their arms, certain of the Celtiberians, carry light shields like those of the Gauls, and certain carry circular wicker shields as large as an aspis, and about their shins and calves they wind greaves made of hair and on their heads they wear bronze helmets adorned with purple crests. The swords they wear are two-edged and wrought of excellent iron, and they also have dirks a span in length which they use in fighting at close quarters. And a peculiar practice is followed by them in the fashioning of their defensive weapons; for they bury plates of iron in the ground and leave them there until in the course of time the rust has eaten out what is weak in the iron and what is left is only the most unyielding, and of this they then fashion excellent swords and such other objects as pertain to war. The weapon which has been fashioned in the manner described cuts through anything which gets in its way, for no shield or helmet or bone can withstand a blow from it, because of the exceptional quality of the iron. Able as they are to fight in two styles, they first carry on the contest on horseback, and when they have defeated the cavalry they dismount, and assuming the rôle of foot-soldiers they put up marvellous battles.(Diodorus)

Strabo does describe some Lusitanians as wearing mail, so it's not impossible that a few of their Celtiberian neighbours had some, though:

At any rate, the Lusitanians, it is said, are given to laying ambush, given to spying out, are quick, nimble, and good at deploying troops. They have a small shield two feet in diameter, concave in front, and suspended from the shoulder by means of thongs (for it has neither arm-rings nor handles). Besides these shields they have a dirk or a butcher's-knife. Most of them wear linen cuirasses; a few wear chain-wrought cuirasses and helmets with three crests, but the rest wear helmets made of sinews. The foot-soldiers wear greaves also, and each soldier has several javelins; and some also make use of spears, and the spears have bronze heads.

Thanks, Duncan.

Part of the background to my querying was the growing suspicion after reading the hints in Quesada-Sanz, that the Celtiberian figures with a 50::50 ratio of chainmail::round pectoral I had acquired were quite at odds with the evidence. I'm open to the idea of a sprinkling of mail, though probably different to the La Tene type, but I think half and half is probably too high.

I've the growing suspicion that figures that we normally use to represent Iberians can readily used to represent Celtiberians, too. Following Quesada-Sanz one could play with the composition of scuta and caetra to represent greater or less Punic/Roman influence.

Perhaps those chainmailed Celtiberians I have may be better tasked as Hannibalic veterans instead?

Nobody has EVER worn "chainmail". It doesn't exist.

I've the growing suspicion that figures that we normally use to represent Iberians can readily used to represent Celtiberians, too.

Unless the Celtiberians were trousered. Lucilius XI.438-9 describes people in bracae, cloaks, and torcs; and the passage is thought to be describing the defenders in the Numantine War:

Conventus pulcher; bracae saga fulgere, torques dati magni

link
link

In AMPW in the 1980s I interpreted Celtiberian figures such as link figure 15 as being bare-legged above greaves tied at the knee, probably Diodoros' "hair" or sinew greaves; other interpretations (as in my second link above) see breeches.

"Chainmail" may never have existed, but that doesn't stop people:

1. Talking about it, and more to the point;
2. Those listening knowing what is being talked about.

As such I suspect that at this point the whole 'there is no such thing as chainmail' argument is basically a lost cause.

Trousers, greaves, cloaks and torcs.

Hmm, it sounds like no existing range quite fits the bill without some extensive customisation. That's even before we get to appropriate headgear.

Perhaps I'll get half way there with antenna swords, javelins and round shields.

Hooded cloaks too. I'd like to see some figures like that.

Northern Iberians and Celtiberians shared much equipment with Celts, so in fact Celt miniatures can work as Northern Iberians and Celtiberians with a bit of converting and paintwork: no beards and such, I'd say less or no moustaches, and shield designs being Iberian looking.

In Catalonia (to which I'm referring to when saying "Northern Iberians" archeological findings from those times confirm long straight swords (hanging from belts and not baldrics), butterfly shield bosses and Montefortino helmets. So Iberian looking Celts can work. Plastic is great for that.

BTW antennae swords are ancestors to (Celt)Iberian swords

Ether drake, do you have any idea how many miniature collections you're ruining? Shame on you! :-)

Thanks for bringing this up, and for the links. I have some reading to do now.

- Ix

The first time you killed a guy who had it – you did.

@Dogged – Wouldn't the Lacetani and Illergetes in what is now Catalonia be distinct from the Celtiberi?

The Quesada-Sanz paper I linked above has a handy schematic table in the back where he places Catalonia and the Northern Levant in a separate category to Celtiberia and other regions.

What period do those archaeological findings you're referring to date to? Quesada-Sanz argues that the butterfly shield and Montefortino really take off in Iberia due to Punic militarisation in the Hannibalic War, and deepend with subsequent Roman conquest in the 1st century. I'm interested in the transitional moment when the Hannibalic War takes off and Quesada-Sanz at least classes Celtiberi with round shields until the end of the 2nd century.

I use 'Antenna sword' in the manner of the Iberian scholars where it is a general term use for anything descended from the La Tene type long sword down to the gladius hispaniensus variant, based on the hilt shape and straight blade.

Just a comment,I do miss Allen Curtis.

Hear hear

Very grateful form this information. I'd hoped to get the English version of the book by the good doctor this year and put off my toy purchases when it was delayed. More reading for me as well methinks.