Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology (127 page)
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CBA
[Ab].
[Ab].
Ceawlin
[Na].
[Na].
King of the west Saxons in the later 6th century
ad
, successor to Cynic. Ceawlin fought against the Kentish kingdom in
c.
ad 568 and during battles with his British neighbours he is credited with the capture of Cirencester, Gloucester, and Bath in ad 577. According to the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
he campaigned in the west midlands and in South Wales, and seems to have been responsible for the rapid growth of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex. Died
c.
ad 593.
ad
, successor to Cynic. Ceawlin fought against the Kentish kingdom in
c.
ad 568 and during battles with his British neighbours he is credited with the capture of Cirencester, Gloucester, and Bath in ad 577. According to the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
he campaigned in the west midlands and in South Wales, and seems to have been responsible for the rapid growth of the Saxon kingdom of Wessex. Died
c.
ad 593.
cella
[Co].
[Co].
Latin term for the great hall of a temple in which stood the generally colossal cult statue of the deity. The inner shrine of a Roman temple, edged in many cases by a colonnade or
AMBULATORY
.
AMBULATORY
.
celt
[Ar].
[Ar].
Obsolete but occasionally used term for a prehistoric axe-like tool or weapon. The word is said to be derived from the pseudo-Latin word ‘celtis’, and was current as early as the 18th century
ad
when it was applied mainly to hafted cutting or chopping implements of bronze.
ad
when it was applied mainly to hafted cutting or chopping implements of bronze.
Celt
(Celtic/Celts)
[CP].
(Celtic/Celts)
[CP].
1
The name given by classical authors such as Hecataeus and Herodotus> to the proto-historic peoples occupying Spain, Gaul, and central Europe. These writers distinguished the Celts from neighbouring peoples by their appearance, customs, language, and political organization. They spoke of them as tall, fair, excitable, ostentatious, and fierce people. They are portrayed by themselves as having wavy swept-back hair, heavy moustaches on the men, and wearing a metal torc or neck-ring. Many authorities extend this fairly narrow, if slightly ambiguous, definition to include the pre-Roman inhabitants of Britain and parts of northern Europe, and even more fancifully to include those same communities living outside the roman Empire who survived down into the later 1st millennium
bc
and beyond—the so-called ‘Celtic fringe’. In fact there is no archaeological evidence for such a widespread and enduring common culture. As a cultural label the term should be seen as a blanket description for a whole series of more or less autonomous groups superficially linked through common ancestries, kinship ties, and shared artistic tastes.
2
A branch of the
INDO-EUROPEAN
language group, that is traditionally divided into two main sections: Q-Celtic (Goidelic) which is now represented by Irish, Manx, and Scots Gaelic; and P-Celtic (Brithonic) which is now represented by Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. See also
CELTIC ART
.
The name given by classical authors such as Hecataeus and Herodotus> to the proto-historic peoples occupying Spain, Gaul, and central Europe. These writers distinguished the Celts from neighbouring peoples by their appearance, customs, language, and political organization. They spoke of them as tall, fair, excitable, ostentatious, and fierce people. They are portrayed by themselves as having wavy swept-back hair, heavy moustaches on the men, and wearing a metal torc or neck-ring. Many authorities extend this fairly narrow, if slightly ambiguous, definition to include the pre-Roman inhabitants of Britain and parts of northern Europe, and even more fancifully to include those same communities living outside the roman Empire who survived down into the later 1st millennium
bc
and beyond—the so-called ‘Celtic fringe’. In fact there is no archaeological evidence for such a widespread and enduring common culture. As a cultural label the term should be seen as a blanket description for a whole series of more or less autonomous groups superficially linked through common ancestries, kinship ties, and shared artistic tastes.
2
A branch of the
INDO-EUROPEAN
language group, that is traditionally divided into two main sections: Q-Celtic (Goidelic) which is now represented by Irish, Manx, and Scots Gaelic; and P-Celtic (Brithonic) which is now represented by Welsh, Cornish, and Breton. See also
CELTIC ART
.
Celtic art
[De].
[De].
A style of decorative art, widely regarded as one of the most impressive known from antiquity that developed around 500 bc in central and western Europe and found expression in the following centuries over a wide area from Spain and Ireland across to eastern Germany. Also known in its early stages as La Tène art. The development of the style in the 5th century
bc
owes much to the artistic genius of local craftsmen building on the tradition of
HALLSTATT
geometric and abstract art, coupled with influences resulting from material introduced through trade, especially the animal designs seen on
SCYTHIAN
artefacts from the steppes of eastern Europe and the plant motifs found in the classical world. The result of this combination was a bold curvilinear style with a fascinating blurring of the distinction between naturalistic and abstract with a strong sense of balance but not of symmetry. Such art is applied extensively on bronzework, horse-gear, weapons, and eating and drinking equipment. There are also notable examples carved in stone. A series of stages to the development of Celtic art was suggested by Paul Jacobsthal in 1944: successively, the Early; Waldalgesheim; Plastic; and Sword styles.
The Celtic art styles of the later 1st millennium
bc
continued to flourish in the northern and western extremes of its early distribution, outside the direct influence of the Roman empire: for example, southern Scandinavia, Ireland, and the west of Britain. Indeed, the styles and ideas survived to return after the Roman withdrawal, fertilizing the artistic revivals of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and British art from the 5th century
ad
onwards.
bc
owes much to the artistic genius of local craftsmen building on the tradition of
HALLSTATT
geometric and abstract art, coupled with influences resulting from material introduced through trade, especially the animal designs seen on
SCYTHIAN
artefacts from the steppes of eastern Europe and the plant motifs found in the classical world. The result of this combination was a bold curvilinear style with a fascinating blurring of the distinction between naturalistic and abstract with a strong sense of balance but not of symmetry. Such art is applied extensively on bronzework, horse-gear, weapons, and eating and drinking equipment. There are also notable examples carved in stone. A series of stages to the development of Celtic art was suggested by Paul Jacobsthal in 1944: successively, the Early; Waldalgesheim; Plastic; and Sword styles.
The Celtic art styles of the later 1st millennium
bc
continued to flourish in the northern and western extremes of its early distribution, outside the direct influence of the Roman empire: for example, southern Scandinavia, Ireland, and the west of Britain. Indeed, the styles and ideas survived to return after the Roman withdrawal, fertilizing the artistic revivals of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and British art from the 5th century
ad
onwards.
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