Bronze helmet of unknown provenance. The helmet had been part of the collection of Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick (1783-1848) and is thought to have been found somewhere in northern England. The helmet is decorated in a north-British variation of the La Tène style and appears to have been structurally modeled on Roman army helmets. Now on display at the British Museum in London. 🏴
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Spanish Fighting Bull, a.k.a. Toro de Lidia, a.k.a. Toro Bravo. 🇪🇸
Some have speculated that the Spanish Fighting Bull is the closest living relative of the now extinct wild bovines that roamed Eurasia, known as aurochs (Bos Primigenius Primigenius). Aurochs were common in Europe during antiquity, Julius Caesar even made note of them in his Commentary on the Gallic Wars (Book VI; chapter 28), telling of their huge size, unusually aggressive demeanor, and of how Germanic tribesmen were keen to hunt them and make cups from their horns. Notably, the Romans were known to have taken aurochs captive for their deadly entertainments in the amphitheaters (venatio). This might hint an origin for the Spanish bull-fighting tradition; although the fact that it’s almost unique to Spain and that other games involving dangerous bovines are popular there might also hint at pre-Roman idiosyncrasies. Aurochs would eventually go extinct in Europe by the 17th century, largely due to deforestation. Interestingly, the Toro de Lidia has a unique Y-chromosome lineage (source here), meaning that it has (at least a partially) different origin from most domestic cattle (Bos Primigenius Taurus). Dutch author Cis Van Vuure has also noted that the Spanish Fighting Bull is nearly identical to the aurochs both physically —except for size and horn length— and in terms of its wild and aggressive demeanor. Toros de Lidia are specifically bred for fighting, and often raised semi-wild on the oak-savannahs of western Spain and Portugal, known as dehesas or montados.
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Some have speculated that the Spanish Fighting Bull is the closest living relative of the now extinct wild bovines that roamed Eurasia, known as aurochs (Bos Primigenius Primigenius). Aurochs were common in Europe during antiquity, Julius Caesar even made note of them in his Commentary on the Gallic Wars (Book VI; chapter 28), telling of their huge size, unusually aggressive demeanor, and of how Germanic tribesmen were keen to hunt them and make cups from their horns. Notably, the Romans were known to have taken aurochs captive for their deadly entertainments in the amphitheaters (venatio). This might hint an origin for the Spanish bull-fighting tradition; although the fact that it’s almost unique to Spain and that other games involving dangerous bovines are popular there might also hint at pre-Roman idiosyncrasies. Aurochs would eventually go extinct in Europe by the 17th century, largely due to deforestation. Interestingly, the Toro de Lidia has a unique Y-chromosome lineage (source here), meaning that it has (at least a partially) different origin from most domestic cattle (Bos Primigenius Taurus). Dutch author Cis Van Vuure has also noted that the Spanish Fighting Bull is nearly identical to the aurochs both physically —except for size and horn length— and in terms of its wild and aggressive demeanor. Toros de Lidia are specifically bred for fighting, and often raised semi-wild on the oak-savannahs of western Spain and Portugal, known as dehesas or montados.
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Brass statue of Donn Cúailnge, the Brown Bull of Cooley; Cooley Peninsula, county Louth, Ireland. 🇮🇪 Cooley was the home not only of the bull, but also of the famed warrior Cú Chulainn.
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Forwarded from Working Men Memes (SHARKY)
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Funny part is that he is in down town London
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Celtic gold torc from the hoard found at Erstfeld, in the Uri canton of Switzerland; 4th century B.C. Displayed at the Swiss National Museum, Zürich. 🇨🇭
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Chorges, France. ⚜️🇫🇷 🇨🇭
The name of this village is a shortened form that derived from Gaulish Caturigomagos, meaning “Plain of Caturix” or “Plain of the Caturiges”. The Caturiges were a Gallic tribe who inhabited the Alpine valleys in a huge arc from Chorges all the way to Le Bourg d’Oisans by the river Romanche (that town appears to be the location shown as Catorissium in an ancient map known as Tabula Peutingeriana). They were known to have joined two neighboring Alpine tribes, the Ceutrones and Graioceli, to wage guerrilla warfare against the legions of Julius Caesar when the latter crossed the Alps in 58 B.C. They were later incorporated into the Roman Empire after a series of military campaigns to conquer all Alpine peoples waged between 16 and 7 B.C.
Pliny the Elder claimed that the Caturiges were an offshoot of the Insubres of Cisalpine Gaul (Natural History; Book III, 125), but this is likely a confusion on his part. Notably, the tribe derives its name from a deity: Caturix. Caturix is attested only among the Helvetii Gauls of Switzerland, where votive inscriptions equate him with the Roman Mars (and the name Caturix means “Battle King”). Other Gallic peoples gave a different name to their god of war, sometimes Camulus, sometimes Segomo, etc; Mars Caturix seems to have been particular to the Helvetii, and their principal deity. Also notable is the name of a nearby town of theirs, Embrun, it being the same name as a Helvetian town in Switzerland: Yverdon-les-Bains. Both names, Yverdon and Embrun, are derived from Gaulish Eburodunon, meaning “Yew Fortress”. It would thus seem more likely that the Caturiges were an exiled clan of the Swiss Helvetii, who named a town in the French Alps after another one in their original Swiss homeland. A Helvetian origin is also suggested by the fact that ancient historians told us the Helvetii were divided into four clans or “cantons”, but only three are named by Caesar and Posidonius: The Tigurini, Verbigeni, and Tougeni. The Caturiges would thus seem to fit neatly into that fourth piece of the puzzle.
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The name of this village is a shortened form that derived from Gaulish Caturigomagos, meaning “Plain of Caturix” or “Plain of the Caturiges”. The Caturiges were a Gallic tribe who inhabited the Alpine valleys in a huge arc from Chorges all the way to Le Bourg d’Oisans by the river Romanche (that town appears to be the location shown as Catorissium in an ancient map known as Tabula Peutingeriana). They were known to have joined two neighboring Alpine tribes, the Ceutrones and Graioceli, to wage guerrilla warfare against the legions of Julius Caesar when the latter crossed the Alps in 58 B.C. They were later incorporated into the Roman Empire after a series of military campaigns to conquer all Alpine peoples waged between 16 and 7 B.C.
Pliny the Elder claimed that the Caturiges were an offshoot of the Insubres of Cisalpine Gaul (Natural History; Book III, 125), but this is likely a confusion on his part. Notably, the tribe derives its name from a deity: Caturix. Caturix is attested only among the Helvetii Gauls of Switzerland, where votive inscriptions equate him with the Roman Mars (and the name Caturix means “Battle King”). Other Gallic peoples gave a different name to their god of war, sometimes Camulus, sometimes Segomo, etc; Mars Caturix seems to have been particular to the Helvetii, and their principal deity. Also notable is the name of a nearby town of theirs, Embrun, it being the same name as a Helvetian town in Switzerland: Yverdon-les-Bains. Both names, Yverdon and Embrun, are derived from Gaulish Eburodunon, meaning “Yew Fortress”. It would thus seem more likely that the Caturiges were an exiled clan of the Swiss Helvetii, who named a town in the French Alps after another one in their original Swiss homeland. A Helvetian origin is also suggested by the fact that ancient historians told us the Helvetii were divided into four clans or “cantons”, but only three are named by Caesar and Posidonius: The Tigurini, Verbigeni, and Tougeni. The Caturiges would thus seem to fit neatly into that fourth piece of the puzzle.
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Rosnaree House (left), by the river Boyne, in county Meath, Ireland. 🇮🇪
Rosnaree House appears to be built on top of what once was the House of Cleíteach, which was the principal residence of the High Kings of Ireland. Their inaugural site, the Hill of Tara, is only 7 or 8 miles away. Nearby are other important mythical sites such as Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth. Nearby was also supposedly fought the Battle of Ros na Ríg in the 1st century B.C; between king Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster and Cairpre Nia Fer of North Leinster. The latter was killed in the affray by the Ulster hero Cú Chulainn. The last High King to have his abode at Cleíteach was Muirceartach, son of Muiredach, alias “Mac Ercae”, of the northern Cenél nEógain. Muirceartach was a folk-hero of the Northern Uí Néill, credited with many successful battles against enemies throughout Ireland. He was also said to have treacherously murdered a king Loarn mac Eirc of Dál Riata in Scotland by burning him in his feasting hall. Muirceartach was himself killed in a similar fashion in the year AD 534, when his hall at Cleíteach was attacked by enemies from the rival Kingdom of Leinster. He is said to have been drowned in a vat full of wine and the house of Cleíteach burned with him inside it, never to be rebuilt. The contemporary accounts describe the event with supernatural overtones: Muirceartach is said to have had visions of warrior-bands prior to the attack, attacking them deliriously outside the house before real ones showed up and surrounded the place. The attack was apparently led by a woman bent on revenge: Sin, daughter of Sighe, son of Dian, a Leinster chief whom Muirceartach had killed in battle three years earlier.
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Rosnaree House appears to be built on top of what once was the House of Cleíteach, which was the principal residence of the High Kings of Ireland. Their inaugural site, the Hill of Tara, is only 7 or 8 miles away. Nearby are other important mythical sites such as Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth. Nearby was also supposedly fought the Battle of Ros na Ríg in the 1st century B.C; between king Conchobar mac Nessa of Ulster and Cairpre Nia Fer of North Leinster. The latter was killed in the affray by the Ulster hero Cú Chulainn. The last High King to have his abode at Cleíteach was Muirceartach, son of Muiredach, alias “Mac Ercae”, of the northern Cenél nEógain. Muirceartach was a folk-hero of the Northern Uí Néill, credited with many successful battles against enemies throughout Ireland. He was also said to have treacherously murdered a king Loarn mac Eirc of Dál Riata in Scotland by burning him in his feasting hall. Muirceartach was himself killed in a similar fashion in the year AD 534, when his hall at Cleíteach was attacked by enemies from the rival Kingdom of Leinster. He is said to have been drowned in a vat full of wine and the house of Cleíteach burned with him inside it, never to be rebuilt. The contemporary accounts describe the event with supernatural overtones: Muirceartach is said to have had visions of warrior-bands prior to the attack, attacking them deliriously outside the house before real ones showed up and surrounded the place. The attack was apparently led by a woman bent on revenge: Sin, daughter of Sighe, son of Dian, a Leinster chief whom Muirceartach had killed in battle three years earlier.
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Bronze decorative plate for a belt, from a princely grave near Mörsingen, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany; 8th century B.C. 🇩🇪 On display at the Wurttembergisches Landesmuseum in Stuttgart, Germany.
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Bronze mirror decorated in La Tène style, found in a hoard of objects buried in a bog near Balmaclellan, in Galloway, Scotland; 1st or 2nd century AD. 🏴
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American tourists are now exposing and beating up gypsy scammers in Paris. ⚜️🇫🇷 Vercingetorix, Joan of Arc, and Louis IX would all be proud.
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🏴 Scottish Gaelic language maps: (1) Percentage of speakers in 2011, (2) place-names containing the Gaelic element bal- (from baile meaning ‘village’, ‘town’, ‘home’, or ‘farmstead’). The 2022 census showed a significant increase in Gaelic speakers across Scotland (over 10,000), suggesting a possible resurgence in interest.
A common misconception is that Gaelic is only a Highland language. As a matter of fact, Gaelic was spoken in the Scottish Lowlands by all or a majority of people for centuries, even after monarchs like David I (1124-1153) began planting Scotland with Norman settlers. Norman lords in the Lowlands often ruled over large majority Gaelic-speaking serf populations who only gradually became Anglicized. Galloway in particular retained its Gaelic speech up until the 16th and 17th centuries. Use of the language there didn’t fully die out until the 18th century; Margaret McMurray (d. 1760) being the last known Gaelic speaker there.
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A common misconception is that Gaelic is only a Highland language. As a matter of fact, Gaelic was spoken in the Scottish Lowlands by all or a majority of people for centuries, even after monarchs like David I (1124-1153) began planting Scotland with Norman settlers. Norman lords in the Lowlands often ruled over large majority Gaelic-speaking serf populations who only gradually became Anglicized. Galloway in particular retained its Gaelic speech up until the 16th and 17th centuries. Use of the language there didn’t fully die out until the 18th century; Margaret McMurray (d. 1760) being the last known Gaelic speaker there.
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Serpent gods: The Iberian mausoleum of Pozo Moro; Albacete province, Spain. 🇪🇸
Pozo Moro dates to the end of the 6th century B.C; and contains the burial of an Iberian ruler. Grave goods included fine Greek amphorae, evidencing Spain’s long-distance commercial ties at the time. The stone mausoleum is decorated with mythical and animal scenes, which show strong Middle Eastern —particularly Hittite and Phoenician— influences. One particular scene is striking: Reptilian deities glut themselves at a feast; one of them receives an offering that would appear to be a human child-sacrifice. The scene reflects common motifs of the pagan world: That of the civilizing serpent gods, and also that of child-sacrifice. Across many ancient pagan cultures, the myth of serpentine deities who bring civilization is a recurring phenomenon: In India and southeast Asia it was the Nagas, in China the Heavenly or King Dragon, for the Mayans it was Kukulkán, known also in central Mexico as Quetzalcóatl; the feathered rattlesnake. Without exception, all the lores from these disparate cultures tell a version of the same story: Otherworldly serpent beings gifted mankind with the knowledge to build civilization and even spawned ruling dynasties to lord it over them. Note that this pattern occurs also in the Bible (Genesis 3 & 6), the angelic serpent being identified as Satan. It’s from the Bible that we get the notion that man paid a steep price for this “gift” of god-like civilizing wisdom, although the pagan worldview reflects this as well, since the “gods” require sacrifice, and as the Akkadian Atra-Hasis myth tells us: The “gods” go so far even as to take credit for supposedly having created mankind, with the explicit purpose of being a slave species to build civilization for them.
Child-sacrifice was another commonly recurring phenomenon in the ancient world, being most often associated with the Ammonite god Moloch or Milcom. We know the cult of Moloch was exported —as Biblical commentators lamented— to neighboring peoples. In Jerusalem, the place where children were offered and their remains disposed of became synonymous for the eternal damnation of the wicked: The Valley of Hinnom, a.k.a. Gehenna. This is perhaps because it was a landfill where garbage was burnt, but also undoubtedly because of how abominable the practice was regarded by more sensible minds. The Phoenician version of Moloch was Baal-Hammon, whom Greco-Roman historians identified with Saturn. Archaeology has shown that the Phoenicians exported the abhorrent cult throughout the Mediterranean, as far as Sardinia and Iberia. The Irish pagan cult of Crom Cruach —mentioned in the Dindsenchas and Tripartite Life of St. Patrick— is identical with that of Baal-Hammon/Moloch, so it seems possible that the cult was exported even farther that previously supposed. Other pagan child sacrifice rites are harder to explain, like for example the yearly Aztec rain sacrifice, which involved taking a procession of children up to a mountain and cutting out their hearts as an offering to the rain god Tlaloc. To this day, no one has been able to explain the recurring motif of the tyrannical civilizing serpent gods —who demand human sacrifice as payment— appearing in nigh every ancient culture on earth, many of which had no contact with one another as far as we’re aware. The snake gods of Pozo Moro could perhaps be thought of as a result of diffusion from Middle Eastern cultures, but other occurrences —like that of Kukulkán— would appear to have no natural explanation.
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Pozo Moro dates to the end of the 6th century B.C; and contains the burial of an Iberian ruler. Grave goods included fine Greek amphorae, evidencing Spain’s long-distance commercial ties at the time. The stone mausoleum is decorated with mythical and animal scenes, which show strong Middle Eastern —particularly Hittite and Phoenician— influences. One particular scene is striking: Reptilian deities glut themselves at a feast; one of them receives an offering that would appear to be a human child-sacrifice. The scene reflects common motifs of the pagan world: That of the civilizing serpent gods, and also that of child-sacrifice. Across many ancient pagan cultures, the myth of serpentine deities who bring civilization is a recurring phenomenon: In India and southeast Asia it was the Nagas, in China the Heavenly or King Dragon, for the Mayans it was Kukulkán, known also in central Mexico as Quetzalcóatl; the feathered rattlesnake. Without exception, all the lores from these disparate cultures tell a version of the same story: Otherworldly serpent beings gifted mankind with the knowledge to build civilization and even spawned ruling dynasties to lord it over them. Note that this pattern occurs also in the Bible (Genesis 3 & 6), the angelic serpent being identified as Satan. It’s from the Bible that we get the notion that man paid a steep price for this “gift” of god-like civilizing wisdom, although the pagan worldview reflects this as well, since the “gods” require sacrifice, and as the Akkadian Atra-Hasis myth tells us: The “gods” go so far even as to take credit for supposedly having created mankind, with the explicit purpose of being a slave species to build civilization for them.
Child-sacrifice was another commonly recurring phenomenon in the ancient world, being most often associated with the Ammonite god Moloch or Milcom. We know the cult of Moloch was exported —as Biblical commentators lamented— to neighboring peoples. In Jerusalem, the place where children were offered and their remains disposed of became synonymous for the eternal damnation of the wicked: The Valley of Hinnom, a.k.a. Gehenna. This is perhaps because it was a landfill where garbage was burnt, but also undoubtedly because of how abominable the practice was regarded by more sensible minds. The Phoenician version of Moloch was Baal-Hammon, whom Greco-Roman historians identified with Saturn. Archaeology has shown that the Phoenicians exported the abhorrent cult throughout the Mediterranean, as far as Sardinia and Iberia. The Irish pagan cult of Crom Cruach —mentioned in the Dindsenchas and Tripartite Life of St. Patrick— is identical with that of Baal-Hammon/Moloch, so it seems possible that the cult was exported even farther that previously supposed. Other pagan child sacrifice rites are harder to explain, like for example the yearly Aztec rain sacrifice, which involved taking a procession of children up to a mountain and cutting out their hearts as an offering to the rain god Tlaloc. To this day, no one has been able to explain the recurring motif of the tyrannical civilizing serpent gods —who demand human sacrifice as payment— appearing in nigh every ancient culture on earth, many of which had no contact with one another as far as we’re aware. The snake gods of Pozo Moro could perhaps be thought of as a result of diffusion from Middle Eastern cultures, but other occurrences —like that of Kukulkán— would appear to have no natural explanation.
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