Celts in the Iron Age

[wiseheart]

Saw a highly interesting BBC documentation about them on German TV. Who'd have thought that the Celts had built roads through swamps waaaay before the Romans did? The one found in Kenagh (Ireland) could bear heavily loaden carts.

Also, Celtic Europe seems to have been technically at least as sophisticated as the Romans were. At least. And they had a huge waterway network of trade roads down to Africa and as far south as China. A flourishing culture - until Caesar decided that the Galls needed his "protection"... after which there were 2 million dead in Gallia and finally gold coin in Rome.

Civilization... isn't it a very complex thing?

Comments

[rignach.livejournal.com]

I have seen the same documentary and was too some time surprised about some things other not so. Never did care much for the romans because they destoryed a lot.
May be the irish part in me. So my sympathies are with the Celts and Gallier.

Sometimes I think civilization as complex it may get is only a way to get better weapon technology, sad but true on some accounts.

[jilba.livejournal.com]

Isn't it funny how conquering style empires like Rome do that, destroy so much!

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Yep. Integrate what could be integrated (which is the reason why they practically didn't have any real culture of their own, or religion, or whatnot - they stole everything from other people, mostly from the Greeks) and annihilate whatever cannot be intergrated.

Money and weapons... Doesn't it remind you of another "great empire"?

[jilba.livejournal.com]

Gee..let me think...*cough*America*cough* I mean the current government, not the people, of course.

Mind you, the British Empire was pretty durned good at destroying other's cultures too.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I can get your inkling...

Apparently, it comes with the whole "empire" thing. Nations that think in terms of empire tend to be very... destructive for any other people.

[jilba.livejournal.com]

Yes, they do. And they justify it mostly by saying they are civilising the people or getting rid of evil dictators...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Terry Jones just did a four-part documentary for the BBC called Barbarians, which compared and contrasted Roman and (so-called) barbarian societies - keep an eye for it turning up, it had some interesting stuff in it.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

I think it's a same thing - it's just hard to match the English and German titles sometimes.

I recorded the greater half of the stuff - German TV showed it in one huge block - and will re-watch it at a later time, I think. I liked it a great deal.

[rcfinch.livejournal.com]

We're only just beginning to rid ourselves of the Roman-coloured glasses with which much of European history has been studied for many centuries. The results are fascinating indeed!

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

I think the problem is that, apart from Roman sources, we don't have much written about those non-Roman cultures - and of course, the Roman sources are biased. So it's very hard to get an objective view of the societies the Roman conquests destroyed.

It really is the victor who writes the history books.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Re: your last sentence
I believe the Avari could tell a story or two about that.

[wiseheart.livejournal.com]

Indeed. I wish there were more documentaries like that one, on a more regular schedule. I'm truly fascinated by that sort of stuff.