Celtic Archeology - 3

Bibracte, France

The sign at the entrance to Bibracte.

What an amazing place. It was a crazy long drive and worth every kilometer. Bibracte was a hilltop fortified city or oppidum that was built on land that had been inhabited since the stone age. About 300 years before Christ the fortress was built in a most amazing way. The walls surrounding the city used stacked logs and rocks in a clever technique that made it impregnable in its time.

A rebuilt section fo the wall and trench that served as fortifications. Notice the ends of wood sticking out between the rocks. This was sturdy enough in it's day.

The city was a part of Gaul which was a word the Romans used to describe the Celts. Remember Paul's letter to the Galatians? The Galatians were among the first Celtic converts to Christianity. Those Galatians were in what we now call Turkey. Paul was a Roman Citizen so he also knew them as Gauls. Bibracte was an impregnable city that held a significant advantage over the approaching Roman army in the 1st century after Christ, but unlike some other cities they did not resist Rome. It turned out, participating in commerce with the Romans over the years left a trusting relationship. The Romans left the city intact and within 100 years had pretty much moved everyone and everything to the new city Autun which was located on nearby flat land with much easier access for transportation.

A full sized diorama of a workplace from 200 years before Christ. They made copper and bronze items here.

The more or less sudden abandonment of the hilltop meant lots of artifacts were left behind and the forest grew back and swallowed the hilltop so well that 200 years later people could not remember where Bibracte had even been.

A Roman house for someone important has many layers of construction to sort out. Those bags on the left of the image are ballast to hold the tent roof on in high wind

The view from the top of the hill in Bibracte. The woods here are amazing, varied, full and lush.

The site was first begun to be excavated in 1867 and the location of Bibracte was then established as being on the hill. Those excavations continued only until the First World War when the primary researcher was killed. Digging did not begin again until 1985.The museum is the result of the latest excavations done in a very systematic way. There is a tremendous amount of material that has been found and sorted and understood and there is still a tremendous amount to be found. Excavations are ongoing. Imagine a population inside the walls of about 30,000 around the time of Christ. What a rich trove of history there is at Bibracte.

Nails. Lots of nails.

There were so many keys. So many clever ways to work out how to lock something.

 The amazing quantity of things leads to displays of not just one fine example of a nail, but many fine examples. Also, many examples of keys. Keys! And Locks! From the time of Christ!

The view from my door. So gorgeous.

There are so many details I can share, but I won't do it all here. The night I spent in the local village was serene and blissful. Truly a quiet time to sit and reflect. When I woke on my last morning  there, the view out my door was so beautiful. Truly I am blessed to be having these experiences.