Comment mieux connaître les Gaulois ?

Third episode in a short series on Gallic equipment and combat, with links to the first two episodes available in the description.

Guillaume Reich is a doctor of protohistoric archaeology, specialist in the cultures of the second Iron Age, a period spanning from 475 BCE to 25 BCE.

• Material cultures produced by the Celts • Gallic armament and equipment • Gallic combat techniques

The episode focuses not only on research findings but also on methodology and research itself.

Swiss site discovered in 1857, namesake of the second Iron Age with thousands of objects in exceptional preservation.

• Exceptional anaerobic phenomenon (oxygen deprivation) • Ordinarily perishable materials preserved nearly intact: wood, wickerwork, leather, fabric fragments • State of preservation close to the moment of abandonment

• Weapons: spears, shields, swords, scabbards and suspension systems • Jewelry: torcs, fibulae, belt elements • Tableware: ceramics, wooden containers, metal vessels (cauldrons) • Equestrian equipment: harnesses, chariot elements • Craft and agricultural tools • Human remains: 50 to 100 skeletons • Equine remains: approximately 30 horses

Major reference site enabling research for over 150 years on Celtic material cultures.

• Military arsenal • Swiss customs post • Lacustrine settlements

From the 1950s onwards, German scholars considered it an 'Opferplatz' (sacrifice site) due to the enormous quantity of material discovered.

Similar discoveries in northern France, notably the sanctuaries of Rythème and Gournay-sur-Aronde, leading to the view of La Tène as a sanctuary or military trophy.

La Tène site is probably a military trophy, a concept specific to the Celtic world linked to war rituals and offerings to deities.

Ancient practice specific to the Celtic world: before battle, belligerents negotiate with deities to request victory.

• Negotiation with the gods: 'you give to me, I give back to you' • In case of victory, consecration to the deity of part of war spoils • Spoils could include: tableware, livestock, horses, humans reduced to slavery

War in the Celtic world is a religious act par excellence, with rites before (gathering of initiates, oracle consultation), during, and after (ritual offerings).

Spirituality surrounds war practices but does not justify them; these are not religious wars in the strict sense.

Systematic study of damage affecting weapons to determine whether it results from religious rituals or combat use.

• Distinguishing between intentional ritual destruction and accidental combat damage • Risk of interpreting everything anomalous as ritual • Need to establish precise questions for archaeological materials

• Traceology (study of traces) • Forensic sciences and scientific police methods • Applied mathematics • Archaeological experimentation

Beyond classical typological identification, this approach allows insight into human gesture and determination of the site's actual function.

Need to distinguish authentic destruction traces from manufacturing marks, restoration, and post-depositional alterations.

• Taphonomy: chemical and mechanical agents acting during 2200 years of burial • Corrosion due to metal oxidation • Alterations from object discovery

Creation of precise terminology distinguishing creases, flexions, torsions, notches, cuts, rather than treating them as synonymous.

Eliminate traces of non-anthropic origin and categorize authentic traces using standardized vocabulary for systematic comparison.

Impossible to damage 1200-year-old original objects; use of faithful replicas of archaeological weapons for experimental testing.

• Respect of weapon's internal structure • Similar chemical composition • Appropriate morphology • Limitation of prohibitive costs of exact replication

Minor composition variations (e.g., 0.2% or 0.3% carbon) do not affect results; only major variations (0.2% vs 2% carbon) are relevant.

Archaeological experimentation is not improvised testing but a process answering precise questions with defined protocol and clear issues.

Training of several dozen people in weapon replica handling, in partnership with equestrian instructors for mounted combat training.

• Complete training of horses for mounted combat simulation • Requires significant time, energy and patience • Rewarding results and gradual horse learning

• Biomechanics: body movements constant since the Iron Age • Weapon morphology guiding usage • Traceology on weapons indicating contact points • Applied mathematics and physical indicators

Several hundred combat sessions without serious injuries (one scratch only), conducted with effective protection and strict adherence to methodological protocol.

• Ancient Greco-Roman texts • Iconography produced by Celts and their contemporaries

Ethnography of contemporary societies still using swords and spears: observation of usage techniques and traces produced on weapons.

Application of forensic principles to interpret wounds and impact traces on weapons.

Mobilization of maximum converging elements to redraw the outline of a complete and coherent Gallic martial art.

• Slight sword flexions: easily obtained in combat from blade impacts when supple • Swords embedded in shields bending at 90 degrees: frequent combat accident • Blade straightening during subsequent strikes: remarkable capacity for ductility

• Scabbards wrapped around legs during falls: simple rider accident • Scabbards bent against horse croup: accidental contact at trot

Refutation of the ancient Greco-Roman myth of the 'barbaric Celt producing poor-quality weapons': Celtic swords are ingenious and exceptionally functional.

• Malleability and ductility allowing shock absorption • Exceptional mechanical resistance • Ability to absorb impacts without catastrophic fracture

Gratitude to Guillaume Reich for illuminating scientific methodology and debunking several stereotypes about the Gallic Iron Age.

Many researchers work quietly to improve understanding of ancient periods, especially the Iron Age.

Guillaume Reich's works and bibliography available in the description and on Nota Bonus channel's social media.

Mention that archaeologists have limited financial resources, with implicit appeal to passionate supporters.