A BETTER LIFE… – On the Migration and Massacre of the Celtic Aegosages tribe in Asia-Minor (218 BC)

UD: Feb. 2020

 

 

One of the most tragic tales in ancient history is surely that of the Aegosages, a tribe whose dream of a new home drew them into a vortex of treachery, war and ultimately doom.

 

The Aegosages (Αἰγοσάγες) were originally one of the tribes which had settled in today’s eastern Bulgaria at the beginning of the 3^rd c. BC, forming part of the Celtic ‘Tyle’ state in that region. In 218 BC they received an invitation from Attalus I Soter (Σωτὴρ), King of Pergamon, who promised them rich lands to settle in Asia-Minor (Poly. Hist. V 78.1). However, having crossed over from Thrace it soon became clear to the Aegosages that Attalus’ offer was a double edged sword. The King of Pergamon intended to use the Celtic tribe in his ongoing war against Seleucus III, because of ‘their reputation for valor’ (Poly. V 111.1).

 

The Hill of Arkovna (western Varna region), center of the Celtic ‘Tyle’ state in eastern Bulgaria

 

Attalus I, King of Pergamon. (Berlin, Pergamonmuseum).

Bronze Celtic shield coins minted at Apros by the Aegosages tribe prior to their migration into Asia-Minor in 218 BC

(Apros was located either at present-day Kestridge or further west near present-day Kermian, (both in European Turkey) on the route of the later Via Egnatia)

https://www.academia.edu/5420363/THE_TYLE_EXPERIMENT

 

However, there was one major flaw in Attalus’ plan – the Aegosages had come to Asia to live – and not to die for Attalus. Tricked into participating in the King’s campaign of terror against the cities in Aeolis, the Aegosages proved to be less than enthusiastic about a war in which they had no interest. The Celts steadfastly refused to participate in the conflict, and ‘detached themselves from the column on the march and encamped by themselves, and were altogether most insubordinate and self-assertive’ (Pol. V 78 3-5).

Finally, when they were camped by the river Megistus, ‘an eclipse of the moon took place, and the Gauls who had all along been aggrieved by the hardships of the march – since they made the campaign accompanied by their wives and children who followed them in wagons – considering this a bad omen, refused to go any further’ (Poly. V. 77).

 This eclipse of the moon provides us with valuable information in pinpointing the exact date of these events as it occurred precisely on September 1, 218 BC (Taking Bucak, Turkey as an approximation to the ancient Selge, at latitude f 37N28 = +37.47°, longitude l 30E36 = 30.60°. From NASA’s Catalog of Lunar Eclipses, -0299 to -0200 for Sep 1, 218 B.C. (-217): p -0217 Sep 01 16:26 T+ 63 -0.179 2.559 1.533 109m 47m 22.4 22.43 -10.2 Time of Greatest Eclipse t 16:26 = 16.43. Greenwich Sidereal Time at 00.00 UT GSTO 22.4, Right ascension of the Moon ra 22.43, Declination of the Moon d -10.2).

 

When it became clear that the Celts would not fight for him, Attalus quickly abandoned them near the Hellespont, where they had no choice but to scavenge from the surrounding towns. At Illium an army was sent against them by Prusias Cholus (Προυσίας Α’ ὁ Χωλός “the Lame“), King of Bithynia, led by a general called Themistes. Subsequently, the Aegosages were expelled from the area, and cut off from supplies and food in the apparent hope that they would starve to death. Finally they wandered to the Abydas area, hoping to make this area their new home. It was not to be…

 

            Prusias I Cholus, King of Bithynia (AR Tetradrachm)

 

The Aegosages tribe had now become an inconvenience. Cut off from the Thracian Celts, and lacking the military strength of the Celtic tribes who had preceded them into Asia-Minor (see main ‘Galatia’ article), they were easy prey for a Hellenistic army. Finally, at Abydas the Bithynian king decided to resolve the problem ‘once and for all’. The men of the tribe attempted to defend their camp against the Bithynian army, and were slaughtered. The events which followed are described by the Greek historian Polybius (Hist. V 111 6-7) as Prusias’ greatest victory:

‘Prusias, therefore, led an army against them, and after destroying all the men in a pitched battle, put to death all the women and children in their camp, and allowed his soldiers who had taken part in the battle to plunder the baggage’.

 

For the Aegosages tribe the dream had begun over 100 years before, and had taken them thousands of miles through southeastern Europe and Asia-Minor. Drawn into Asia by promises of a new home, their refusal to go to war had sealed their fate, and their journey finally came to an end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Congail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic Coins in Bulgarian Museums (3) – Kyustendil

Mac Congail

 

 

 

 

The recently published Celtic coins from the numismatic collection of the Kyustendil regional museum (Filipova S., Ilya Prokopov I., Paunov E. The Numismatic Collection of the Regional Historical Museum at Kyustendil (Ancient Ulpia Pautalia) Part 1: Greek, Thracian, Macedonian, Roman Republican and Roman Provincial Coins. ( CCCHBulg ) Volume II. Sofia 2009) generally reflect the numismatic picture in southwestern Bulgaria in the immediate pre-Roman period. Locally produced (‘barbarian’) silver coinage circulating in this area between the 3rd and 1st c. BC ranged from Celtic imitations of the Macedonian issues of Philip II and Philip III (3rd – 1st c. BC) (fig. 1, 2) through early Celtic imitations of Thasos tetradrachms (fig. 3) (from the late II c. BC).

 

 

 

 

 

The Kyustendil region of Bulgaria

 

 

 

 

Fig. 1 –  Celtic AR Imitation of the ‘Philip II type’ – 3rd c. BC. (Kyustendil Museum Collection)

(after Filipova et al. 2009)

 

 

 

 

 

Fig 2 – Celtic AR Imitation of the ‘Philip III type’ – 2nd c. BC. (Kyustendil Museum Collection)

(after Filipova et al. 2009)

 

 

 

 

Fig. 3 – Early Thraco-Celtic Thasos ‘imitations’ from the Kyustendil Museum Collection. Late 2nd c. BC

(after Filipova et al. 2009)

 

The view expressed in some literature that these early Thasos imitations were produced and circluated in Thrace by some ‘unknown Romans’ – almost 100 years before Rome conquered the area – directly contradicts all the known historical facts relating to this period (on the chronology of the Roman conquest of western Thrace see ‘The Scordisci Wars’ article).

 

 

 

Also noteworthy are the particularly high number of hoards from this area of western Bulgaria which include Roman issues, notably of the Roman Quaestor Aesillas, and the 1st Macedonian region (fig. 4). As outlined elsewhere (see ‘Damnatio Memoriae – Plunder Coins from Thrace’ article), large amounts of these coins were brought into the area prior to the Roman conquest of Thrace as a result of raids/attacks on Roman Macedonia and Greece during the Scordisci Wars, particularly in the first half of the 1st c. BC (for more details see ‘Damnation Memoriae’ and ‘Scordisci Wars’ articles).

 

 

Fig. 4 – Roman First Macedonian Region and Aesillas issues from the numismatic collection of the Kyustendil Regional Museum.

 

(after Filipova et al 2009)

 

 

 

 

 

 In terms of lower denomination/value Celtic coinage, the presence in the Kyustendil region of Celtic bronze Strymon/Trident issues dating to the 2nd/1st c. BC  (fig. 5) clearly illustrates that this type of coinage was also in wide circulation in this area of modern Bulgaria during the immediate pre-Roman period (on the distribution of this coinage in Bulgaria see numismatics section 6).

 

 

 

Fig. 5 – Celtic Strymon/Trident bronze issues from the Kyustendil Museum Collection (2nd – 1st c. BC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EPONA – The Celtic Horse Goddess

UD: April 2019

 

 

 

The Celtic goddess Epona is specifically identified by her horse symbolism. Her name is etymologically related to a Celtic word for horse, and is defined iconographically by the presence of one or more horses, being generally depicted either riding side-saddle on a mare or between two ponies or horses. Epigraphic dedications and images of Epona indicate her immense popularity within the Celtic world, and she was venerated particularly in the east of Gaul and the Rhineland, but known also across the continent from Britain to the Balkans (Green 1992. P. 204 – 207).

Relief plate devoted to the Celtic goddess Epona, found 1583 in the ruins of a Roman villa rustica at Freiberg am Neckar (Baden-Württemberg), Germany

 

 

ETYMOLOGY

 

The name of the goddess derives from the Proto-Celtic *ekWo- ‘horse’, Gaulish Epos – ‘Horse’ (Olr. ech, Ogam EQO-DDI, W: MW ebawl ‘foal’ [m] (GPC ebol) BRET: OBret. eb ‘horse’, ebol ‘foal’, MBret. ebeul [m] CO: OCo. ebol gl. Pullus  CELTIB: Ekua-laku [PN] (A.63). Gaulish Equos – ‘name of the ninth month’ (Coligny) may be an archaic form (with preserved qu < *kw). The Brit. forms (except OBret. eb) are from a derivative *ekwalo- (cf. also Celtib. ekualaku and ekualakos, which has been interpreted as a Nom. sg. of an adjective ‘belonging to ekuala’; Matasovic (2009).

The element is common in Celtic names such as Epacus, Epasius, Eppius, Eppia, Επηνοσ (Epenos), Epomeduos, Eporedorix, and the names of tribes such as the Επίδιοι (Epidii) in Scotland, or in placenames such as Epomanduodurum in France (Delmarre pp. 163-164 and pp. 355-389), while Indo- European cognates of Gaulish epo- are frequent in PN’s over a wide area.

 

Gaulish coin of the Meldi tribe (60-50 BC), bearing the abbreviated legend ΕΠΗΝΟ

Marble relief from Saint-Béat (Haute-Garonne) France, depicting Epona, the Celtic horse Goddess (enthroned), surrounded by geometric symbols and fantastic aquatic/hybrid creatures.

(1/2 c. AD)

 

 

 It should be noted, however, that the supposed autonomy of Celtic civilization in Gaul suffered a major setback with Fernand Benoit’s study of the funereal symbolism of the horseman with the serpent-tailed (“anguiforme”) daemon, which he established as a theme of victory over death, and Epona; both he found to be late manifestations of Mediterranean-influenced symbolism, which had reached Gaul through contacts with the east (Benoît 1950).

Unusually for a Celtic deity, most of whom were associated with specific localities, the worship of Epona, one of the few Celtic divinities worshiped in Rome itself, was widespread in the Roman Empire between the first and third centuries AD (see below).

Epona’s name is known through dedicatory inscriptions (mostly in Latin or Greek), and through passing references in Latin literature. Although the name Epona is Celtic, no inscriptions to the goddess have been found in the Celtic languages, as the custom of setting up dedications was introduced by the Romans. The most northerly Epona inscription comes from Auchendavy (Strathkelvin District, Strathclyde Region) in Scotland.  The altar was unearthed in 1771 during excavations of the Forth and Clyde canal and is now in the Hunterian Museum, Glasgow.

 

The altar from Auchendavy (Strathkelvin District, Strathclyde Region, Scotland)

Marti /
Minervae /
Campestri/bus Herc(u)l(i) /
Eponae /
Victoriae /
M(arcus) Coccei(us) /
Firmus /
|(centurio) leg(ionis) II Aug(ustae)

The altar is dedicated to Mars, Minerva, the Goddesses of the Parade Ground, Hercules, Epona, and Victory by Marcus Cocceius Firmus, a centurion of the 2nd Legion, and most likely a member of the emperor Marcus Aurelius’ bodyguard.

Epona Enthroned on a sandstone relief from the temple area of the ancient settlement of  Brigantium / Bregenz (Vorarlberg), Austria

(1-2 c. AD)

Silver plate depicting Epona enthroned, from the Petrijanec Hoard in northern Croatia (Dated to 294 AD)

https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2017/01/10/epona-enthroned-the-celtic-horse-goddess-on-a-roman-silver-plate-from-petrijanec-croatia/

 

 

EPONA IN THRACE

 

 The earliest evidence for the worship of Epona in Thrace comes from  a small inscribed cult relief, discovered in the Sofia area of western Bulgaria. Dated to the late 4^th/ 3^rd c. BC, the carved ‘Scordus’ stone illustrates well the religious beliefs of the Celtic Scordisci who obviously worshiped Epona, the tribal ancestor-god and the warrior hero. The ritual function of the object is unclear, but carved stones displaying various imagery were widely used in Celtic cult practices. On one side of the relief a mare is depicted, which has been interpreted as a hippomorphic personification of Epona (Green 1986: 91-94, 173-174; 1992: 90-92; 1995: 479; Manov 1993 with cited lit.).

As mentioned, Epona was known as a deity of fertility and prosperity but she was also associated with beliefs relevant to death and the underworld. The other side of the carved stone shows a man in a fight to the death with an enormous snake.  On the edge of the Sofia relief, a second snake is depicted together with a male facing to the front contiguous to a short incised inscription – ΣΚΟΡΔΟ (= genitive: ‘belonging to Scordus), i.e. the tribal eponym and ancestor-god Scordus, attested as Scordiscus in the sources (Appianus, Illyr. 2) (Manov 1993).

 

 

Inscribed cult relief bearing a dedication to the Celtic tribal God Scordus (Sofia region, w. Bulgaria. 4^th – 3^rd c. BC)

(After Manov 1993)

See:

https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/the-scordisci-wars/

 

The survival and popularity of the cult of the Celtic horse goddess in Thrace in the Roman period is testified to by a number of inscriptions and depictions of Epona during this period:

An example from Aptaat (Kruschari district, Dobrich region, northeastern Bulgaria) is one of the few inscriptions in Greek (Reinach 1902 p.237; Magnen & Thévenot #33 (inscription), #219 (depiction). It does not name Epona explicitly, but is carved on an imperial type stone bas-relief of Epona seated between two horses which face inwards, offering them food from her lap. Passers by were thus expected to recognize the goddess by her attributes alone, the name being considered superfluous.

Θεαν έπηχοον Αίλιος Πανλίν [ος άνεθη]

‘Aelius Paulinus has given this image of the auspicious goddess’.

The inscription is dated to the beginning to the 2^nd century A.D. (100 – 122) when the Celtic Cohors II Gallorum equitata was stationed in Moesia.

 

Lead cult plaque from Thrace (2/3 century) depicting Epona and the ‘Danubian Horsemen’ –  a magnificent example of the synthesis of Thracian and Celtic religious beliefs during the Roman period.

for discussion see: http://atlanticreligion.com/2014/08/23/epona-and-the-cult-of-the-danubian-horsemen/; also https://www.academia.edu/4004264/Contribution_to_the_Study_of_the_Danubian_Horsemen_Cult_Iconographic_Syncretism_of_the_Danubian_Goddess_and_Celtic_Fertility_Deities

 

An altar with an inscription to the Celtic Goddess Epona (Deae Eponae Reginae) by Valerius Rufus, beneficiaries consularis legionis of the XI legion confirms Celtic presence in the Roman forces at the Abritus military complex, also in northeastern Bulgaria. The inscription has been dated to 215 AD (Иванов, Р. 1993:29). Other evidence for the worship of the Celtic horse Goddess in Thrace comes from Augustae (modern Hurletz, Koslodui district, Vratza region) in northwestern Bulgaria where a marble votive tablet to the Celtic Goddess has been discovered (Reinach S. Rép. Des reliefs II, 153, nr. 3; Seure, Arch. Thrace II, 177; Kazarow  1938: P. 85. Inv no. 399. Fig. 224), and a bas-relief of the goddess from Plovdiv (Magnen, Thévenot 1953; Tudor 1997).

Marble relief of the Celtic goddess with the Thracian horseman – from Augustae (mod. Hurletz) near Koslodui on the Danube in NW Bulgaria. (1st – 2nd c. AD)

After G. Kazarow 1938, p. 84, Abb. 224. Now at National Archaeological Museum in Sofia, inv. No. 7518. (Thanks to Dr. E. Paunov)

 

Thus, the Epona cult continued to be popular in both northern and southern Thrace even after the Roman conquest, the influence of Celtic legions of the Roman army being instrumental in this phenomenon (see also Botoucharova 1949).

Statuette of Epona, 2/3rd century AD, from Alesia, Gaul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Celtic legions in Thrace see:

https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/hounds-of-the-empire-celtic-roman-legions-on-the-balkans/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Literature Cited

 

Benoît F. (1950) Les mythes de l’outre-tombe. Le cavalier à l’anguipède et l’écuyère Épona. Brussels, Latomus Revue d’études latines

Botoucharova L. (1949) Un nouveaux monument de la deese celto-romaine Epona. – In: RA, 1949, t. XXXIII

Green M. (1992) Animals in Celtic Life and Myth. London/New York

Kazarow  (1938) Die Denkmaler des Thrakischen Reitergottes in Bulgarien I-II. Budapest, 1938 = Dissertationes Pannonicae ser. 2 fasc. 14.

Matasovic R. (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Leiden/Boston

Magnen R. and E. Thévenot (1953). Epona: déesse Gaulois des chevaux protectrice des cavaliers. Bordeaux

Tudor D. (1997) Corpus Momentorum Religionis Equitum Danuvinorum: The Analysis and Interpretation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic Coins in Bulgarian Museums (2) – Razgrad /Northeastern Bulgaria

Mac Congail

 

 

 

The recently published numismatics collection from the Razgrad Regional Muesum (in today’s northeastern Bulgaria, see below) provides us with a valuable insight into the economic and geo-political situation in this region in the centuries directly proceeding the Roman conquest.

 

 

 

 

RAZGRAD

 

 

In the Razgrad area large amounts of La Têne material testifies to a Celtic presence from the 4^th c. BC into the Roman period (see archaeology section). The main settlement in this area was at Abritus (Abritu), located in the Hisarlaka district of modern Razgrad, near the Beli Lom river. Despite the fact that it has hitherto been assumed that the settlement was initially of Roman origin, in light of the pre-Roman archaeological/numismatic evidence found in the area, and the geographical situation of Abritus on the Beli Lom river, it is appears that the name actually comes from the Celtic – abo- (Also recorded in Thrace as the first element of the Celtic settlements bearing the name ‘Ablana’ = river plain – see above) = river, and –ritu- = Ford (MIr -rith, OB rit, ret, OC rid (also in LNN), OW rit (LNN), MW ryt, W rhyd. ADA: 123-124; CPNE: 197-198; DGVB: 297; GPC: 3126; LEIA:R-34; PECA: 91; Falaliev DCCPN 2007; see ‘Celtic Settlements in Northern Bulgaria’ article).

Thus, the initial settlement at Abritu/Razgrad developed around a ford on the Beli Lom river, as the Celtic name suggests.

 

 

 

The Razgrad region of northeastern Bulgaria

 

 

 

 

 Locally produced (non-Hellenistic) coinage circulating in this region in the 3^rd – 1^st c. BC can be broadly broken into 4 main groups – Celtic imitations based on the Macedonian issues of Philip III and Philip II, Thraco-Celtic Thasos tetradrachms of the Thasos type, and bronze and lead Celtic issues based on the Odessos ‘Darsalas’ type coinage.

 

 

 

 

1.     ‘Philip II’ Type

 

 

 

Celtic coins of the Philip II model are found on the territory of today’s Bulgaria almost exclusively north of the Balkan mountains (see Numismatics section 4, Map 4).

The high concentration of Philip II model Celtic coinage in northeastern Bulgaria is particularly interesting from a geo-political perspective. In this region the Banat and Saddle-Head (Sattlekopf)/Oltenia type(s) (Fig. 1-3) are most common. In northeastern Bulgaria this type of Celtic coinage has been found in particularly large concentrations in the Targovischte, Veliko Tarnovo, Razgrad and Russe areas where substantial numbers of Celtic Philip III, Thasos, and ‘Zaravetz type’ coins have also been registered (see below).

 

Fig. 1-2 – The Saddle-Head type (3^rd – 2^nd  c. BC), the artistic predecessor of the extensive Oltenia type (2nd – 1st c. BC) (See numismatics section 4)

 

 

The Celtic “Philip II” type are distinguishable by the strong ‘barbarization’ of the images, the lack of an inscription, the diminishing of the size of the coin cores, and the lowering of the quality of the metal of the coins (Dzanev G. and Prokopov I. Numismatic Collection of the Historical Museum Razgrad (Anc. Abritus). In: Coin Collections and Coin Hoards from Bulgaria /CCCHBulg./ Volume I. Part 2. Sofia 2007; On the artistic evolution of Celtic coins in Thrace see ‘The Art of Rejection article’). A collective find of that type of imitation was discovered in Razgrad at the village of Hursovo, the municipality of Samuil (Razgrad region) Gerassimov, T. Monetni sakrovista, namereni v Bulgaria prez 1966 g., in: IAI, XXX, 1967, 190).

 

 

 

Fig. 3 – Celtic AR Philip II issues from the Razgrad Museum collection (2^nd – 1^st c. BC)

 

Göbl, OTA 300/1 – 305/5

 

(After Dzanev, Prokopov 2007)

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 4 – Celtic tetradrachms of the Sattelkopfpferd/Oltenia type from Pirgovo/Mediolana, Russe Region (from the 1978 hoard), Northeastern Bulgaria

(see ‘The Mother Matrix’ article)

 

 

 

 

 Other such finds of the Celtic Philip II type in eastern Bulgaria include those from the Veliko Tarnovo and Targovischte areas found at Gorsko Novo-Selo (Veliko Tarnovo region), Kruscheto (Veliko Tarnovo region), Lublen (Turgovischte region), Palamarza (Targovischte region), Veliko Tarnovo  and Samovodene (Veliko Tarnovo region), as well as finds recorded at sites such as the Celtic hillfort at Arkovna (Dalgopol, Varna region), Sliven, Dobritsch, Schumen, and from Kavarna (Dobruja region) on the Black Sea coast (Numismatics section 4, Map 4).

 Most impressive is the heavy concentration of Philip II model Celtic coins in the Rousse area on the Danube, to the northwest of Razgrad. The finds from Rousse itself, the Sredna Kupa district, and the nearby villages of Belyanovo, Mechka, Pirgovo, Slivo Pole, Nikolovo (On these finds see Numismatics section 4, with cited lit.), and Pissanets (Gerassimov, T. Kolektivni nachodki na moneti prez 1939 IBAI, XIII, 1939, 344; Shkorpil, K. An Inventory of the antiquities along the Roussenski Lom River, Sofia 1914, 47 (and item 46, 2) come from an area along the Danube where the Celtic settlements of Mediolana (modern-day Pirgovo), Tegris (modern-day Marten) and Transmarisca (modern-day Tutrakan) were situated (see ‘Celtic Settlements in Northern Bulgaria’ article). Numismatic data thus confirms the linguistic and archaeological evidence which indicates that the Russe/Razgrad area was one of the key political and economic centers of the Celtic culture in northeastern Bulgaria in the 3^rd – 1^st c. BC. Numerous finds of Celtic ‘Philip II’ type coinage have also been registered in other areas of modern day Bulgaria, particularly from the area of the Scordisci in the north west of the country (see Numismatics section 4).

 

 In the case of a number of hoards the Celtic Philip II types have been found together with other Celtic coinage from the same period, for example the aforementioned hoards from Pirgovo, Belyanovo, and Mechka, as well as in the city of Russe – where the coins of the “Philip II” type were unearthed together with other Celtic types, notably the Philip III/Cavaros types outlined below.

 

 

 

 

Fig 5 – Mother coin for the production of Celtic Sattlekopf/Oltenia issues, Rousse region

(See ‘The Mother Matric’ article)

 

 

 

 

 

2.      PHILIP III/CAVAROS TYPE

 

 

Besides single finds, two major hoards of Celtic Philip III/Cavaros model coins have hitherto been found in the Razgrad area. The first was discovered in February 1940 when a find of 52 pieces of that type, placed in a pot, was uncovered just next to the southern end of the village of Kamenovo, the parish of Senovo. The hoard consists of early examples of this type of Celtic coinage, and from an artistic perspective should be dated to around the mid 2^nd C. BC:

 

 

 

Fig. 5 –  Celtic Philip III/Cavaros type issues from the Kamenovo Hoard (Razgrad region, northeastern Bulgaria)

(after Dzanev, Prokopov 2007)

 

 

 

In the 1950’s another large find of the same type of Celtic coins was uncovered on the land of the village of Kostandenets, (Tsar Kaloyan district, Razgrad region). Unfortunately, this hoard was stolen/dispersed, and is no longer available for scientific research (Dzanev, Prokopov op. cit.).

 

 

From a more general perspective, besides the aforementioned hoards from Pirgovo, Belyanovo and Mechka, as well as in the city of Russe – where the Celtic coins of the “Philip III” type were unearthed together with other Celtic issues, hoards consisting of imitations of only the “Philip III” type have been recorded across northern and central Bulgaria – for example, from the villages of Pepelina, and Ostritsa in the Rousse region, from the town of Gorna Oryahovitsa, from the village of Radanovo, in the region of Veliko Turnovo,  from the area of Veliko Turnovo, from the village of Pordim, Pleven region, from the village of Alexandrovo, in the region of Lovetch, from the village of Smotchan,  Lovetch region (see Lovech article), from the village of Glavatsi, in the region of Vratsa, from the village of Vrachesh, in the region of Botevgrad (Dzanev, Prokopov op cit.), etc. (On the circulation of these coins in Bulgaria see Numismatics section 1).

 Particularly interesting are Celtic Philip III issues found in a hoard during recent excavations at Bratya Daskalovi, Stara Zagora region (South-Central Bulgaria) which, according to the authors (Prokopov, Paunov, Filipova 2011; see Numismatics section 1), indicates that this area of Thrace was also settled by a Celtic population in the immediate pre-Roman period.

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 6 – Celtic (Philip III type) drachms, recently found together in a hoard at Bratya Daskalovi (Stara Zagora region, south-central Bulgaria). Together with Celtic ‘Thasos’ issues and a Roman Republican issue. The hoard has been dated to the late 1st c. BC.

(After Prokopov, Paunov, Filipova 2011; see Numismatics section 1)

 

 

 

 

3.     ‘THASOS’

 

 

 The third main ‘barbarian’ coinage in circulation in the Razgrad/Northeasten Bulgaria area in the immediate pre-Roman period was Thraco-Celtic imitations of the Thasos tetradrachma. Judging by the artistic features of these coins, which remain relatively close to the Hellenistic original, they should be dated to the last decades of the 2^nd c. BC:

 

 

Fig. 7 – Early Thraco-Celtic Thasos ‘Imitations’ from the Razgrad Museum collection. Late 2^nd c. BC.

(after Dzanev, Prokopov 2007;See Thasos article in Numismatics section; On the artistic evolution of Celtic Thasos imitations in Thrace in the 2^nd/ 1^st c. BC see Mac Congail, Krusseva  (2010) – Mac Congail B., Krusseva B. The Men Who Became the Sun, Barbarian Art and Religion on the Balkans. Plovdiv)

 

 

 

 

Along with single finds of ‘Thasos’ imitations, a find consisting of an unknown number of tetradrachms of this type was uncovered to the west of the village of Krivnya, the parish of Senovo (Razgrad region) ‘some years ago’. Apparently, four tetradrachms plus one Roman Republican denarius from this hoard reached the local museum, and are enlisted in the register of the Museum collection of the village of Krivnya. However, after ‘a number of robberies’ the coins themselves have disappeared (Dzanev, Prokopov op cit.). Of another hoard of Thasos coins found at Lipnik (Razgrad district, Razgrad region), dated 90 / 80 BC (Prokopov, 2003:141 = Прокопов И., Няколко Бележки Върху Тасоските Тетрадрахми От Колекцията На Народния Музей В Белград. In: Известия на Катедра Българска история и археология и Катедра Обща история – ЮЗУ ‘Неофит Рилски’ – Благоевград, 1/2003. P. 139-153), there is strangely no mention in the recent catalogue of the Numismatics Collection of the Razgrad Museum.

 

 

 From a more general perspective, in the 2^nd/1^st c. BC the Celtic Thasos ‘imitations’ were in circulation virtually over the entire territory of today’s Bulgaria (see Numismatics section 2). Most noteworthy is the concentration of these coins in the region of central Bulgaria called – especially in the area east of Plovdiv stretching to Nova Zagora. As mentioned, in the Chirpan/ Bratya Daskalovi district (Stara Zagora Region) recent excavations have uncovered such Celtic Thasos model tetradrachms together with other Celtic coins. This data, in combination with other previous such finds from this area of Bulgaria (from Benkovski, Kolyo Marinovo, Medovo, Naidenovo, Bolyarino, Nova Zagora, Stara Zagora, and Zetovo) strongly suggests that this was an important center for the production of Celtic coins of the ‘Thasos’ type in the 2^nd / 1^st c. BC (op cit).

 

 

 

Fig. 8 – Late Celtic tetradrachmas of the Thasos type, dated circa 50 BC

Bratya Daskalovi, Stara Zagora region (After Prokopov et al 2011; see Numismatics section 2 – Thasos)

 

 

 

 

Also interesting is the number of finds along the Maritza (Hebros) river valley in the Plovdiv and Haskovo regions of Bulgaria, which suggests continuing trade contacts between the Celtic and Thracian tribes of the interior with the Aegean during the 1^st c. BC. While other Celtic coinage from this period is localized in certain areas of Bulgaria, the Thasos model is found in all areas of the country, frequently together with other Celtic, Hellenistic or Roman coins. This would appear to indicate that the Celtic Thasos ‘imitations’ represented a de facto ‘pan-barbarian’ currency among the native Thracian and Celtic population of today’s Bulgaria in the pre-Roman period.

 

 

 

 

 

4.     ‘ZARAVETZ’ ISSUES

 

Most interesting of the Celtic coinage recorded in the Razgrad region are local Celtic issues. Particularly surprising is the presence of Celtic Strymon/Trident type bronze issues in the Razgrad area. Finds of this type of coinage, which was produced by the Celtic tribes in western Bulgaria in the 2^nd/ 1^st c. BC (see Numismatics Section 6), in the Razgrad region, indicates trade links between the Celtic tribes in the west and northeast of modern Bulgaria.

 

 

 

Fig. 9- Celtic Strymon/Trident Bronze issue from the Razgrad Museum collection.

(after Dzanev, Prokopov 2007)

 

 

 

Perhaps most interesting in the Razgrad Museum collection are bronze issues of the Celtic ‘Zaravetz’ type, dating to the 3^rd/ 2^nd c. BC. The Celtic Zaravetz type coins are based on autonomous bronze emissions of the Greek colony of Odessos which had been previously dated generally to the 3^rd – 1^st c. BC. The fact that the Celtic ‘imitations’  have been found in an archaeological context which dates to the end of the 3^rd – beginning of the 2^nd c. BC logically dates the Greek prototype to the period prior to the end of the 3^rd c. BC (see numismatics section 8 – ‘Zaravetz’).

In terms of distribution the Zaravetz issues bronze and lead issues have been discovered in an area which includes most of present day northeastern Bulgaria, with a particularly high concentration in the Veliko Tarnovo area.  Besides the Zaravetz hillfort , further examples have been recorded in Veliko Tarnovo itself, the Hill(fort) at Rachovetz – 7 km. north of Veliko Tarnovo, and in the vicinity of the village of Samovodene, slightly to the west of Veliko Tarnovo. Other finds have been recorded in northeastern Bulgaria at Byala (Russe region), Schumen, Tutrakan (Silestra region), Opaka (Targovischte region), from Razgrad, as well as in large numbers from the western Varna region  (op cit).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 10 – Celtic ‘Zaravetz’ bronze issues from the Razgrad Museum collection

(after Dzanev, Prokopov 2007)

 

 

 

 

 

The recently published numismatic evidence from the Razgrad Museum collection confirms that the coinage produced by the local population in the Thracian interior of northeastern Bulgaria in the late Iron Age ranged from Celtic silver issues of the Philip II, Philip III and Thasos types, to lower value coinage which consisted of the aforementioned Zaravetz bronze and lead issues. This broad spectrum of coinage of differing intrinsic and economic value indicates a highly developed and organized economic system among the ‘barbarian’ population of this area of northeastern Bulgaria in the pre-Roman period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INVENTING THE PAST – The Case of Roman Republican Imitations from Thrace

 

 

 

 

 

 The communist regimes on the Balkans may have fallen over two decades ago, but their legacy continues to echo in historical research in the region. One of the most glaring examples of this is the ‘Great Dacia’ theory which was part and parcel of Communist-era nationalism.

  In the 1960’s Romania and Bulgaria experienced important political and cultural changes, which were the direct result of the political decision to move away from the Soviet protectorate to an aggressive form of nationalism. This new nationalist trend was in fact a collage of much older elements based on a traditionally nationalist concept that had never died out. Stalinism, which had become so estranged from national issues, contributed greatly to the indigenisation of Marxism and the blurring of any distinctions between communism and nationalism (Mircea Anghelinu (1997) Failed Revolution: Marxism and the Romanian Prehistoric Archaeology between 1945 and 1989. In: Archaeologia Bulgarica XI 2007 1 1-36 Sofia).

 The anti-intellectual orientation of the ruling elite was especially prominent after 1980 and resulted in a tight control of academic promotions, with damaging effects for the access that younger generations had to university and research positions. Such an academic atmosphere reinforced the position and authority of the cultural mandarins, while research personnel gradually grew older, with little chance of being replaced. A new wave of ideological “disciplining” began in historiography, which emphasized the idea of national unity and continuity, and the Thracian-Dacian roots of the Romanian state (Boia L. 1997, Istorie şi mit în conştiinţa romaneascâ Bucureşti. P. 74-82).

 

In the case of archaeology the cultural heritage law of 1974 forced a drastic ‘reevaluation’ of the old archaeological material. Much more significant for the new ideological doctrine was the creation in 1979 of the Institute of Thracology (apparently modeled on the Bulgarian Institute of Thracology), and then the sudden interest in things Dacian/Thracian displayed especially by sycophants employed by the these institutes, and the Institute for the History of the Romanian Communist Party (Boia op cit; Mircea Anghelinu op cit.).

Thus, in Romania, starting with the 1970s, the Ceauşescu regime used ancient history, seen from a nationalistic and questionable interpretation (Protochronism) as a way to legitimize its own rule. For example, Burebista, a leader of the Thracian Getae tribe who carried out a genocidal attack on his neighbors during the 1^st c. BC (see ‘The Scordisci Wars’ article), was portrayed as the “unifier” of the Dacian tribes and, in 1980, the Romanian government declared the celebration of the 2050^th anniversary of the founding of the “unified and centralized” Dacian state of Burebista, drawing comparisons with Ceauşescu’s Romania, and claiming an uninterrupted existence of the Romanian state from Burebista to Ceauşescu (Boia L. History and Myth in Romanian Consciousness, Budapest: Central European University Press, 2001).

 

 

 

 

Romanian postage stamp from1980, labeled “2050 years from the creation of the first centralized and independent Dacian state under the leadership of Burebista”

 

 

 

 

 

THE SHADOW OF ‘SOCIALISM’

 

 

In Romania the fact that this manipulation took place has been accepted to a certain extent, unlike the case in neighboring Bulgaria where the Institute of Thracology (now the ‘Alexander Fol Institute of Thracology’) continues to function and dictate the official version of ancient history in line with the old nationalist/communist doctrine. However, to varying degrees, the shadow of this manipulation still hangs over academic research in both countries.

See also:

https://www.academia.edu/10243363/_Hellenisation_and_ethnicity_in_the_continental_Balkan_Iron_Age_in_Fingerprinting_the_Iron_Age_eds._C._Popoa_and_S._Stodartt_Oxbow_Books_173_184

 

 

 

 

Just one example of the legacy of this phenomenon is the continued attribution by numismatic experts, slavishly following the publications of communist era ‘scientists’  (in this case especially Chiţescu, M. 1971. ‘Copii şi imitaţii de denari romani republicani în Dacia. In:  Memoria Antiquitatis 3: 209–258; also Chiţescu, M. 1981. Numismatic Aspects of the Dacian State. British Archaeological Reports, Oxford. International Series 112.; Preda, C. 1973. Monedele Geto-Dacilor. Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, Bucureşti. In Bulgaria the work of the communist Thracologist Youroukova Y. – especially ‘Coins of the Ancient Thracians’ (1976), of all imitations of the denarii of the Roman Republic in southeastern Europe to ‘Dacians’, a phenomenon which, as illustrated below, is, from a historical and geographical perspective, quite absurd.

 

 

 

 

 

DACIAN BULGARIA ?

 

 

In fact, recent research on imitations of the denarii of the Roman Republic found in Moesia and Thrace, within the borders of modern Bulgaria, throws serious doubt on the ‘Dacian’ origin of this type of coinage (Paunov E., Davis P. Imitations of Republican Denarii from Moesia and Thrace. In: HPAKΛEOVΣ ΣΩTHPOΣ ΘAΣIΩN. Studia in honorem Iliae Prokopov sexagenario ab amicis et discipulis dedicata. Veliko Tarnovo 2012, 389-413).

 

 

 

1.       Northeastern Bulgaria

 

An analysis of the territorial distribution/diffusion of imitations of denarii found south of the Danube in Thrace (in modern Bulgaria) indicates 3 distinct concentrations (map 1).

 

 

(After Paunov/Davis 2012)

 

 

 

The first concentration comes from the the north-eastern part of Moesia, in the zone of the modern Bulgarian districts of Russe–Razgrad–Shumen–Silistra–Dobrich. In this area three hoards containing such imitations have been discovered: the Maluk Porovetz, Garvan and ‘South Dobrudja’ hoards. Unfortunately, as is the case with so much numismatic material in Bulgaria, the material from only one of these hoards is extant – the Maluk Porovatz hoard (Dimitrov K.( 2007) The Getic Territory of Sboryanovo, Northeast Bulgaria, in the Late Hellenistic Age (2nd century BC–1st century AD). – Thracia 17, Sofia, 2007, p. 369–390). All the coins from the other two – the Garvan and South Dobrudja hoards, have been stolen/sold, and are no longer available for scientific research (Paunov/Davis op cit).

 

(on the systematic theft of ancient coinage in Bulgaria see: https://www.academia.edu/4136789/Celtic_Coinage_from_Bulgaria_-_The_Material_Evidence )

 

 

 

 We are therefore left with the Malak Porovetz hoard found in the Razgrad region of northeastern Bulgaria in 1995. The hoard consisted of 44 denarii of the Roman Republic, 11 imitations of the same, and a single late drachm of Apollonia in Illyria dated to ca. 50–25 BC. What is interesting about this hoard of ‘Dacian’ coins is that has distinct parallels with another hoard now in the Belgrade National Museum. Like Maluk Porovets, this hoard was discov­ered far from Dacia, coming from the ‘Vojvodina Region’ (= formerly South­ern Hungary) in modern Serbia. The hoard arrived in Belgrade sometime between the two World Wars, and consists solely of ‘barbarian’ imitations, 15 in all. This find is, according to the latest research (loc cit) precisely parallel to the Roman Republican imitations issued by the Celtic Eravisci tribe in Pannonia in the late 1st century BC. The style of the Vojvodina coins also closely resembles that of the Celtic Eraviscan issues (loc cit).

 

 

 

The Maluk Porovets / 1995 hoard (after Paunov/Davis 2012)

 

2.       Northwestern Bulgaria

 

The bulk of Roman Republican imitations have been found in the west of Bulgaria, in the modern districts of Vratsa and Pleven along the Danube and a strip extending 20–40 km south of the Danube. They originate from denarii hoards deposited between 77 and 43/2 BC, and come from an area which numismatic, archaeological and linguistic evidence clearly shows was inhabited by a Thraco-Celtic population during the period in question (see Archaeology, Numismatics and Linguistics sections on this site), and where there is absolutely no scientific record of ‘Dacian’ settlement.

 

 

 

 

3.      South-Central Bulgaria

 

 The third zone appears in central Bulgaria, south of the Balkan chain/Haemus. It is concentrated in the modern district of Plovdiv, Yambol and Sliven, roughly between Philippopolis and Kabyle. Recent numismatic finds from this area has clearly confirmed that this part of modern Bulgaria was also inhabited by a Thraco-Celtic population in the immediate pre-Roman period and, once again, there is absolutely no historical or archaeological evidence of a ‘Dacian’ presence in this region.

 

 

 

Celtic (Philip III type) drachms, and a Roman Republican issue, recently found together in a hoard at Bratya Daskalovi (Stara Zagora region, south-central Bulgaria). The hoard has been dated to the late 1st c. BC.

( After Prokopov, Paunov, Filipova 2011; see: https://www.academia.edu/4107842/The_Celts_in_Central_Thrace )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The case of the ‘Dacian’ coins outlined above is, of course, only one example of the phenomenon which continues to haunt historical science on the Balkans. Since the collapse of the communist regimes in Bulgaria and Romania no review has been undertaken of the extent and legacy of the systematic manipulation of historical science which occurred during this period. Indeed, academic works produced during the ‘socialist’ era continue to be the standard works on ancient history in this region, which has led to the absurd situation whereby today a new generation of archaeologists and numismatic experts, unwilling or unable to challenge the past, continue to base their research on the manipulated works of communist era ‘scientists’.

 

 

It is said that the victors write history; in the case of the Balkans it would appear that the opposite is true. Until they face the recent past, academics in Romania and Bulgaria have little chance of discovering the truth about ancient history.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Congail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TARANIS – The Celtic Thunder God

UD: Jan. 2019

“And those who pacify with blood accursed

Savage Teutates, Hesus’ horrid shrines,

And Taranis’ altars cruel as were those

Loved by Diana, goddess of the north”.

Lucanus (Pharsalia, Book 1)

The three Celtic deities best known from classical sources are Teutates, Esus, and Taranis. Teutates is identified with Mars or Mercury, and receives as human sacrifice drowned captives and fallen warriors. Esus too is identified with Mercury, but also with Mars, and he accepts as sacrifice prisoners who are hanged on trees and then dismembered.

The Celtic ‘Thunder-God’ – Taranis, who is also known from nine inscriptions found in Italy, Germany, Hungary, Croatia, France and Belgium, and figures as the character of Taran in the Cymric (Welsh) Mabinogi of Branwen ferch Llŷr, is identified with Jupiter, as a warlord and a sky god. Human sacrifices to Taranis were made by burning prisoners (Mac Congail/Krusseva 2010).

Taranis (with wheel and thunderbolt) (0.103 m.)

(Le Chatelet, Gourzon, (Haute-Marne), France)

 

 

Noteworthy is the fact that the main Celtic God, Lugh/Lugus, is not mentioned by Lucanus (op cit), leading to the suggestion of Rübekeil (2003:38), in view of his hypothesis of a Celtic origin of the Germanic god Odin, that Lugus refers to the trinity Teutates-Esus-Taranis considered as a single god (Rübekeil L. Wodan und andere forschungsgeschichtliche Leichen: exhumiert, Beiträge zur Namenforschung 38 (2003), 25–42).

 Based on writings in the ninth century comment on Lucan, the Berne Scholia, and descriptions in Caesar’s De Bello Gallica, Taranis has been identified as the deity to whom both Julius Caesar and Strabo describe human sacrifices being offered by being burnt alive in ‘wicker men’. The Berne Scholia also describes Taranis as a ‘master of war’, and links him with the Roman deity Jupiter. Taranis’ name is derived from the Proto-Celtic root  *torano- ‘thunder’ [Noun] (GOlD: Olr. torann – ‘thunder, noise’ W: MW taran [f] ‘(peal of) thunder, thunderclap’, BRET: OBret. taran gl. tonitru, MoBret. taran [m] CO: OCo. taran gl. tonitruum, MCo. taran).

Jupiter Taranis – Roman era statue of Taranis syncretised with Jupiter, with eagle and solar/Taranis wheel (attributes of the respective deities) in the  Musée lapidaire d’Avignon.

The Gaulish word for ‘thunder’ is preserved in the Gasconian dialect of French (taram). The Celtic forms are best explained by a metathesis *tonaro- > *torano-. The unmetathesized form is perhaps attested as the OBrit. Theonym Tanaro and in the old name of the river Po, Tanarus ‘thundering’. (REF: LEIA T-l13, GPC III: 3447, Delamarre 290, Deshayes 2003: 714; See Matasovic R., Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Leinen/Boston 2009. P. 384, with relevant lit.).

Fragment of bone with inscription to Taranis in a Celto-Etruscan script, from Tesero di Sottopendonda (Trente) Italy (4/3 c. BC)

THE WHEEL OF TARANIS

Bronze applique,  decorated with zoomorphic/bird figures and solar/Taranis wheels, discovered in the Forest of Moidons (Burgandy), France

(6th c. BC)

Stallion with 3 penises, under Taranis wheel – reverse of a Celtic issue of the Tótfalu type from western Hungary (2c. BC)

Associated with the Celtic Thunder God is the Solar Wheel or Wheel of Taranis. The wheel was an important symbol in Celtic polytheism, associated with a specific god, known as the wheel-god, identified as the sky-, sun-, or thunder-god, whose name is attested to as Taranis by Lucanus (op cit). Numerous representations of the Wheel of Taranis are found on coins and other artifacts across Celtic Europe, from Britain in the west to Thrace in the east:

8-spoked votive wheels (rouelles / bronze), thought to correspond to the cult of Taranis. Thousands of such wheels have been found in sanctuaries and other sites across Celtic Europe.

(Musée d’Archéologie Nationale, France)

8-spoked (lead) votive Taranis wheel from the Celtic (Scordisci) settlement at Čurug, Vojvodina Province, Serbia (2-1 c. BC)

Gold beads and pendants, including solar/Taranis wheels, from the Celtic Szárazd-Regöly hoard, discovered in a swamp near Regöly hillfort (Tolna), Hungary

(1st c. BC)

Gaul. Aedui tribe. (Circa 80-50 BC)

AR Quinarius. Helmeted head of Roma left /  horse prancing left, Wheel of Taranis below.

Reverse of a Balkan Celtic tetradrachm from central Bulgaria. Note the solar/Taranis wheel in the top left corner.

(1st c. BC)

https://www.academia.edu/6144182/Celtic_Thasos_Type_Coinage_from_Central_Bulgaria

Obverse of a quarter stater of the Caletes tribe with solar/Taranis wheel on the subjects face, discovered at Bordeaux-Saint-Clair (Haute-Normandie), France (1 c. BC)

Belgic Gaul, Treviri AV Stater. ca. 60–30/25 BC.

Celticized horse rearing left, in upper field star, V with dotted border, & cross with four annulets between arms, pellet-cross under belly, star under tail; Wheel of Taranis, two stars & globule in front, above a row of pellets, herringbone pattern, solid line above which three stars.

THUNDER ON THE BALKANS

In southeastern Europe a range of Celtic artifacts have also been found which depict the Wheel of Taranis. The Celtic deity holding the solar wheel is represented, for example, on Plate C of the Gundestrup Cauldron thought to have been produced by the Thraco-Celtic Scordisci tribes in northwestern Bulgaria in the late 2^nd c. BC. Artifacts depicting the Wheel of Taranis in this region range from Celtic coins dating from the 3^rd c. BC onwards, to Romano-Celtic artifacts from the same region dating to the 3^rd/4^th c. AD.

Taranis with Wheel as depicted on plate C of the Gundestrup cauldron

In the 20’s of the 2^nd c. BC the Scordisci tribe in Thrace came under attack from the north. An expansion of the Germanic Cimbri tribe was finally repulsed near the Celtic settlement of Singidunum (Belgrade), and the Cimbri migrated further west (Rankin D. Celts and the Classical World. New York 1987:19 ). It is likely that it was during these events that the most famous of Scordisci treasures, the Gundestrup cauldron, was looted and carried off by the Cimbri (Bergquist A.K., Taylor T.F. The Origin of the Gundestrup Cauldron, Antiquity, vol. 61, 1987. 10-24).

See also:

https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/the-scordisci-wars/

Celtic tetradrachms from the Ribnjacka Hoard (Bjelovar, Croatia) –  2^nd / 1^st c. BC. Note the Wheel of Taranis in front of the horseman on the reverse. A large number of tetradrachms found in this hoard bore the symbol of the Taranis Wheel (Nos. 45 – 64).

(After Kos P., Mirnik I. The Ribnjacka Hoard (Bjelovar, Croatia). In The Numismatic Chronicle 159 (1999)

Celtic belt buckle of the Laminci type with Taranis Wheel from Dalj, eastern Croatia (1 c. BC)

https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2014/08/14/a-taranis-belt-buckle-from-dalj-eastern-croatia/

Scordisci AR Drachm. Dachreiter type. Serbia/Bulgaria (2/ 1 c. BC)

Laureate head right / Horse trotting left. Wheel of Taranis above

Evidence for the worship of Taranis across Europe, and the depiction of the Solar Wheel associated with this Celtic deity on coins and other artifacts, is particularly important as it again illustrates that although regional differences existed between the pan-Celtic peoples in terms of material culture, certain core religious beliefs and iconography were shared, and remained constant despite temporal and geographic dispersion.

Mac Congail

A CELTIC “MOTHER COIN” FROM NORTHEASTERN BULGARIA

UD: May 2019

 

 

An extremely rare artifact connected with the production of ancient coins has been discovered the Russe/Rousse area of northeastern Bulgaria. The bronze matrix has a cone-shaped end, while the the other is cylindrical. It is 32 mm. long, and on the circular base of the cylindrical section, that has a 22 mm diameter, the stylized (Celticized) head of Zeus, right, is presented (Fig.1).

 

The Mother-Matrix for the production of Celtic “Sattelkopfpferd” type tetradrachms from Russe, northeastern Bulgaria (late 2^nd / early 1^st c. BC)

(After Draganov D. (2007)  A Matrix for Producing Obverse Coin Dies for Imitations of the ‘Sattelkopfpferd’ (Virteju-Bukuresti) Type. In: Proceedings of the conference “The world of Getae” (20-21 September 2007, Ruse)

 

The same image is found on the obverse of a type of Celtic silver imitations of the popular tetradrachms of Philip II of the type “Head of Zeus/ horseman”, known as the “Sattelkopfpferd” type (Fig. 2), which have been securely dated to the end of 2^nd – first decades of the 1^st c. BC. This type of Celtic coin is among the most widespread in the Lower Danube region, and thousands of examples are known from hoards and single finds. The coins were struck of low standard silver alloy. They are 21-23 mm in diameter and weigh between 6 and 8 grams, and are referenced as tetradrachms or didrachms.

Most of the hoards (ca. 20) of these Celtic coins have been found in Romania and therefore it was previously considered that they had been struck there. The number of hoards in the line of Giurgiu – Bucurest- Carpathians is especially numerous (Draganov op. cit).

Celtic material from this stretch of the Bulgarian Danube, such as the Celtic ceramic production complex at Krivina, and hoards of Celtic coins from the villages of Ostritza, Sredna Kula, Mechka, Russe, Pirgovo, Nikolovo, and Slivo Pole in the Rousse region where the mother-matrix was found, on this short stretch of the Danube clearly indicate that this was an important centre of trade for the Celtic culture which inhabited the area of northeastern Bulgaria in the late Iron Age. Particularly interesting are large hoards of Celtic coins (Philip II and Philip III models) and associated ceramic found at the village of Pirgovo in 1910, 1938, 1978, and 1995 (Draganov op cit.), which also included Celtic silver tetradrachmas of the Sattelkopfpferd type (Fig. 2). The modern village of Pirgovo is on the location of the Celtic settlement of Mediolana (Not. Dign., XL, 21 (Mediolana); Falileyev 2009: 282).

 

Celtic tetradrachms of the Sattelkopfpferd type from Pirgovo/Mediolana, Russe Region (from the 1978 hoard), Northeastern Bulgaria

https://www.academia.edu/3488614/Celtic_Coin_Hoards_from_Thrace

 

 

All of the finds of this particular type of Sattelkopfpferd Celtic coin in Bulgaria have been located in the north-east of the country: from Russe (1939), Slivo Pole (1967), Nikolovo (1955), Sredna Kula (1965), Pirgovo/Mediolana – 4 hoards: 1910, 1938 (a large hoard of 87 specimens), 1978 (another large hoard of 395 specimens) and the latest find in 1995, as well as from Hursovo in the Razgrad region (1966), and the fact that the matrix (fig. 1) was also found in that region, indicates that this type of Celtic coin was produced not only in the region of Virteju-Bucuresti of Romania, as was previously thought, but also south of the Danube by the Celts in the Russe region.

 

The 1939 Hoard from Rousse City Centre

https://www.academia.edu/5775102/Celtic_Hoards_from_Rousse_n.e._Bulgaria_

 

 

 

THE MOTHER-MATRIX

 

The ‘matrix’ itself is particularly fascinating because of the fact that its image is positive, i.e. protuberant. This means that it could not be used for striking coins, because the obverse image would appear in negative. Therefore, it had another, more special application. This is actually the mother-coin used to produce casting-moulds, i.e. this is, in effect, a ‘matrix for matrixes’.  Such a specimen would have been used to produce the necessary number of (probably clay) casting- moulds to be used for the production of thousands of coins of this type, which explains the massive amount of this type of Celtic coins found in Bulgaria (on the technical aspect of this process see comment 1 below).

 

The fact that this mother-coin was used for the making of casting-moulds (and not coins) ranks it among the rarest numismatic finds ever discovered in this part of Europe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See also:

https://www.academia.edu/4136789/Celtic_Coinage_from_Bulgaria_-_The_Material_Evidence

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Congail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHO’S AFRAID OF THE PAST?

Mac Congail

 

(Updated August 1, 2012)

 

 

 

 

 

Who’s Afraid of the Past ?

 

 

 

A number of factors should be borne in mind when dealing with the coin collections from Bulgarian museums. Since the early 1990’s attempts have been made by a number of Bulgarian and international experts to get access to information on the coin collections in the various museums around Bulgaria, and publish a comprehensive account of the information contained within. This fine work, which has resulted in catalogues of the collections from a handful of museums being published (the CCCHBulg series) has met with varying success. The philosophy of the authors of the CCCHBulg project is based ‘on the understanding that this type of information is not a personal or even a national property in perpetuity, but is above all – a universal patrimonium’.  (Paunov E. Prokopov I. Filipova S. (2011) Re-discovering coins: Publication of the Numismatic Collections in Bulgarian Museums – A New Project. In: Proceedings of the XIVth International Numismatic Congress, Glasgow 2009).

 

 

 

  From the perspective of Celtic culture in Bulgaria, the completion of such a project would bring long awaited clarity on this controversial issue, surely something which would be welcomed by all those involved in Bulgarian archaeology and culture? However, as has been recently pointed out by those involved in the project – ‘Unfortunately specific information on the contents and details of each hoard preserved in the collections in Bulgaria’s museums remained closed for the foreign scientific community and Bulgarian numismatists as well. This is largely the case for the biggest collection in Bulgaria – in the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at the Academy of Sciences, Sofia. Under the care of the NAIM, access to information for some 600,000 coins is sealed. This huge amount of material includes valuable collections and complete hoards discovered and donated to the museum by the general public and adherent followers of immaculate reputation in the past when the spirit of academicism and fellowship reigned. It is a pity that even today the collection of the National Archaeological Institute with Museum at Sofia is still being managed by people whose ill-intentioned and perverted policy is reduced to shameless trading with the data about the coin hoards and collections’ (Paunov, Prokopov, Filipova op. cit).

 

 A further problem has been the wholesale theft of coins from Bulgarian museums over the decades, and in particular in the post 1989 period, possibly one of the main reasons why many museums are reluctant to open their collections to the prying eyes of outside experts. A well known example of this phenomenon is that of Veliko Tarnovo regional museum in northeastern Bulgaria where the entire numismatic collection was stolen in December 2006. According to preliminary information, the number of coins stolen is around 30,000 (Prokopov 2007:5), although, as indicated below, this statistic is certainly a gross underestimate, and the real number of recorded and documented coins discovered in Bulgaria, which have subsequently disappeared, is many times that number.

 

 

 

 How does this phenomenon relate to the finds of Celtic coins in Bulgaria ? Until recently virtually none of the thousands of Celtic coins found on the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria had been properly published (see numismatics sections 1-11). This situation has changed slowly in recent years, thanks chiefly to the fine work of experts such as Paunov, Prokopov and Filipova, and a small fraction of the vast amount of Celtic numismatic material from Bulgaria has slowly come to light in official publications. However, these publications have raised a number of new and disturbing questions, not least the discrepancy between the finds of Celtic coinage officially recorded in Bulgaria, chiefly in the pre-communist period, and those which today are actually in the collections of these museums. Thus, for example, while the publication of the Celtic numismatic material from Lovech Museum outlined below provides us with invaluable information which confirms the archaeological and numismatic evidence of Celtic settlement in this area in the 3^rd – 1^st c. BC, the material which is not in the museum (see below) raises questions of a very different nature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Barbarian’ coinage in the Lovech Regional museum collection may be broken up into two distinct groups – Celto-Thracian imitations of the Thasos type (Section 1), and Celtic coinage of the  “Philip III Arrhidaeus’ type (Section 2). The general circulation, and chronological and artistic context of both these types of Celtic coins in Bulgaria (based on current data) are dealt with in separate articles (see numismatics section 1 and 2), the Celtic Thasos ‘imitations’ dated to the second half of the 2^nd c. BC/ 1^st c. BC, and the Philip III types dated more generally to the 3^rd /1^st c. BC.  

 

 

 

 

SECTION 1 – Thraco-Celtic Thasos ‘Imitations’ (2^nd/1^st c. BC)

 

(All Inventory numbers and illustrations after Gushterakliev R. and Prokopov I. CCCHBulg. Vol. 1. Part 1 – Numismatic Collection of the Historical Museum Lovech (Anc. Melta) Sofia 2007)

 

 

 

Single Finds:

 

 

 

Celtic Thasos Imitation from the Slatina Hoard (IGCH no.488)

 

 

 

Coins 356-370  = Celtic Thasos type hoard with identical die combination (after Gushterakliev, Prokopov op. cit.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SECTION 2 – Celtic coinage of the ‘Philip III Arrhidaeus’ type

 

 

 

A massive amounts of this type of Celtic coinage has been registered across Bulgaria, and a large number of hoards consisting only of Celtic coins of the “Philip III” type have also been discovered over the last century. This includes examples like those from the villages of Pepelina and Ostritsa (Russe Region), from the town of Gorna Oryahovitsa, and from the village of Radanovo (Veliko Turnovo reg.), from the area of Veliko Turnovo city itself,  from the village of Pordim (Pleven region), from the village of Glavatsi (Vratza region), from the village of Vrachesh, in the region of Botevgrad, from the villages of Alexandrovo and Smochan, in Lovech region (Gushterakliev R. and Prokopov I. op cit.; see ‘Celtic Coins in Bulgarian Museums (2) – Razgrad; on Smochan see below), etc.

 

 

 

From the Lovech Museum Collection:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic Philip III type Coins from the Smochan Hoard (Lovech region):

 

 

 

Particularly interesting is a large hoard of Celtic coins found at the village of Smochan in the Lovech region. All coins (57-101) are of the same type:

 

Obv. Head of Heracles in lion’s skin r. or bucel only.

Rev. Zeus enthroned. Pseudo (?) inscription

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It should be noted that, according to the authors (Gushterakliev, Prokopov 2007), this study is a complete record of the coins from this period from the Lovech regional museum. Lovech is an area where archaeological and linguistic evidence provides extensive evidence of Celtic settlement in the pre-Roman period, for example La Têne swords, shields, daggers, chainmail etc. from villages such as Smochan, Dojrentsi, Karpachevo, Letnitza, Teteven, Bachovitza, and Lovech itself (see archaeological and linguistic sections). The numismatic evidence from the Lovech area provides indisputable proof of this.

 Particularly interesting is the large hoard of Celtic Philip III imitations found at the village of Smochan, where a variety of La Têne weaponry and other Celtic material from this period has also been recorded. This hoard was found at the Smochan hillfort ‘Kaleto’, only circa 400-500m east of Tumulus 3, which included La Tene D burials and Celtic iron weaponry.

 

 

  However, one should note the conspicuous absence of other recorded hoards of Celtic coins from the Lovech region in this cataolgue, such as that from Lometz – (Troyan district, Lovech region) (See numismatics article Part 1 – Map 1 # 7; In the vicinity of Lometz a large hoard of silver Celtic drachmae was uncovered at the beginning of the 20th century. The trove included over 100 Celtic silver drachmae (Alexander/Philip III type – GOTA – 574 (and variation) /575/576 and 577) as well as a gold ring with a gem – Мушмов 1926, p. 324 = Noe, no. 622; Pink 1974, 87), from the village of Alexandrovo, in the region of Lovech (Gerassimov, T. Kolektivni nachodki ot moneti prez 1939, IAI, XIII, 1939, 341; Gushterakliev, Prokopov 2007), or the village of Glojene (Teteven district, Lovech region) where a hoard of Celtic Philiip III type tetradrachms was also found and recorded in the early 1970’s (see Numismatics section 1 – Map 1 # 10 – Youroukova 1978 = Й. Юрукова. Монетните находки, открити в България през 1973 и 1974 г. In: Археология, XX, 1978-2:72; also Nedialkova 2010), etc. May we presume that these, and other recorded hoards of Celtic coins from this region, which do not appear in the ‘comprehensive’ catalogue of Lovech museum, have been overlooked in this case, and will soon also be made available for the purpose of academic research?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic settlements/material from northwestern Bulgaria (3rd – 1st c. BC)

* Provisional (August 2012). Map includes only La Têne weaponry, other Celtic material from this area will be dealt with separately

 

 

 

 

During the 3^rd – 1^st c. BC period the only locally produced coins (i.e. those produced by the native population) circulating in this area of north-central Bulgaria were Celto-Thracian Thasos models and Celtic Philip III ‘imitations’, which logically indicates, in combination with the archaeological and linguistic evidence (see relevant sections), that the population of the Lovech region of Bulgaria in the immediate pre-Roman period consisted of a Thraco-Celtic population in which the Celtic element was dominant.

 

 

 

 

 Depiction of a Celtic warrior in chainmail from the Letnitza treasure, Lovech region, Bulgaria. (Detail; see ‘The Letnitza Treasure’ article)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE EVIL EYE and LITTLE GLASS MEN

(Revised July 2012)

 

 

Mac Congail

 

 

 

 

 

  Glass is a medium not often associated with ‘barbarian’ craftsmen, yet from the Hallstatt period onwards glass becomes an important medium in Celtic art. By the middle and late La Têne period, bracelets in translucent blue, green, yellow and clear glass are known, some with elaborate mouldings, fluting or inlaid ornament around their edges (1).

  In Bulgaria such La Têne glass braclets have recently been discovered in the Celtic habitation layers at the hillforts of Arkovna (Dalgopol district, Varna region)(2) and Zaravetz (Veliko Tarnovo) dating from the 3rd c. BC onwards (3).  Similar glass bracelets have recently been discovered along with other La Têne material at other sites across Bulgaria, from Kavarna on the Black Sea coast (4) to Babyak in the Rhodope mountains (5), as well as at the ancient city of Helis (Sboryanovo archaeological reserve, Razgrad region) (See: New Celtic material in Bulgaria – Part 1).

 

 

 

THE EVIL EYE

 

 

  The belief in the  ’Evil Eye’ is, of course, present in many ancient cultures and literary evidence attests to the belief in the evil eye in the eastern Mediterranean for millennia starting with Hesiod, Callimachus, Plato, Diodorus Siculus, Theocritus, Plutarch, Heliodorus, Pliny the Elder, and Aulus Gellius, and is represented in Celtic mythology, notable in the form of the Fomorian giant Balor of the Evil Eye (see Dundes (1992). Evil Eye: Folklore Casebook. Madison, Wis. University of Wisconsin Press; Kinahan G.H. (1894) ”Donegal Folk-lore: Ballor of the Evil Eye.”  In: The Folk-Lore Journal. Volume 5). Of interest in the present context are the glass nazars, or ‘magical’ charms, used to ward off the evil eye, particularly popular in the Balkans and todays Turkey, and generally believed to be originally of Turkish origin.

 

 

Modern Turkish Nazar Beads

 

 

In fact, recent evidence from archaeological sites in Bulgaria suggests that this particular kind of glass ‘evil eye’ charm has its origins not in the east, but in the west. In each case the aforementioned glass La Têne bracelets discovered at archaeological sites in Bulgaria (dating from the Late Iron Age – 3rd c. BC) have been found together with glass ‘Eye Beads’, which in turn have direct parallels from earlier Celtic sites across Europe (Fig. 1). It should also be borne in mind that the Celts who settled in the Balkans during this period also established the Celtic state of Galatia in persent day Turkey from 277 BC onwards (see main ‘Galatia’ article’).

 

 

 

 

Fig 1 – Glass ‘Eye’ beads from the Celtic burial at Necropole de Prosnes – Marne.

Museé Saint Remi – Reims. (5^th c. BC)

 

 

 

Common Celtic patterns employed in the creation of glass artifacts are for the most part very simple and geometric. One of the most common patterns are those consisting of concentric circles. These resemble eyes and may have been used as protection against misfortune; as in the ‘evil eye.’ Triskels, s-scrolls, running-dog patterns, and chevrons (all indicators of the La Têne style) are also quite commonly found among Celtic glass artifacts of this period.

 

 

Celtic ‘Eye Beads’ from the tomb in tumulus 18 at Helis/Sboryanovo, northeastern Bulgaria (4th – 3rd c. BC)

(Drawing after Gergova D., Katevski I. Archaeology and Geophysics in the Sboryanovo National Reserve (North-East Bulgaria). In: Geoarchaeology and Archaeomineralogy (Eds. R. I. Kostov, B. Gaydarska, M. Gurova). Proceedings of the International Conference, 29-30 October 2008, 374-379; see also ‘New Material from Bulgaria 1′ article)

 

 

 

Claims by Bulgarian archaeologists (6) that these first ‘appear’ in Thrace in the 2^nd – 1^st c. BC are logically contradicted by their discovery at Celtic sites across Europe from the 5^th c. BC, and at Celtic sites in Bulgaria, such as Arkovna and Zaravetz, from the beginning of the 3^rd c. BC onwards. It would appear that these eye beads had religious significance for the Celts, as they are often found as votive offerings. This is confirmed by their discovery at  cult sanctuaries such as that at Babyak in the Rhodope mountains. Evidence from such sites also suggests that these ‘evil eye’ beads were primarily worn by women, as they are generally found in parts of the complexes together with typically female articles such as female torcs, bracelets and ‘cult’ firepots (See ‘Killing the Objects’ and ‘Cult Firepots’ articles).

 

 

 

Fig. 2 Reinheim “Princess” Necklace. Reinheim (Saarland), Germany

Mid. 4th c. BC

 

 

 

 

 

‘Nazar trees’ in modern Cappadocia, Turkey

Disks or balls, consisting of concentric blue and white circles (usually, from inside to outside, dark blue, light blue, white, dark blue) representing an evil eye are common apotropaic talismans in the Middle East today, found on the prows of Mediterranean boats and elsewhere; in some forms of the folklore, the staring eyes are supposed to bend the malicious gaze back to the sorcerer.

Known as nazar (Turkish: nazar boncuğu or nazarlık), this talisman is most frequently seen today in Turkey, Bulgaria and other southeastern European countries, found in or on houses and vehicles or worn as beads.

 

 

 

 

 

FACE/HEAD BEADS

 

 

It has long been noted that the cult of the head ‘constitutes a persistent theme throughout all aspects of Celtic life spiritual and temporal, and the symbol of the severed head may be regarded as the most typical and universal of their religious attitudes’ (Ross A. Pagan Celtic Britain. London 1967:163). Strabo informs us that ‘when they depart from the battle they hang the heads of their enemies from the necks of their horses, and when they have brought them home, nail the spectacle to the entrance of their houses…’ (Strabo IV, 4,5). Amongst the Celts the human head ‘was venerated above all else, since the head was to the Celt the soul, centre of  the emotions, as well as of life itself, a symbol of divinity and of the powers of the other-world’ (Jacobstahl P. Early Celtic Art. Oxford. 1944; see also Mac Congail 2010: 173-175). The severed head is also one of the main core symbols on Celtic artifacts and coins from the Balkans in the 3rd – 1st c. BC (see archaeology (particularly ‘The Letnitza Treasure’ and ‘The Mezek Chariot Burial’ articles) and numismatics sections).

 

In this context, perhaps the most interesting glasswork produced by the Celts were the ‘Face/Head Beads’ (Fig. 2) These have been found at a number of Celtic burials and other sites from central (Germany, Switzerland etc.) and eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria etc.) (7).

 

 

 

Fig 3 Celtic glass ‘Face Beads’ from burials in Eastern Europe (After Megaw 1989)

 

 

 

A wonderful example of this type of face bead from Bulgaria comes from the Mogilanska Tumulus (Vratza region)(fig. 4), which has direct parallels in examples discovered at Celtic sites in the Czech Republic and Romania (8). Similar artifacts have been unearthed in recent years during excavations at other sites in Bulgaria such as Appolonia Pontica (Sozopol) (9), Mavrova Tumulus (Starosel, Plovdiv region)(10), Burgas(11), Kavarna (Dobruja region)(12), etc.

 

Fig 4. ‘Face Bead’ and other glass articles from Mogilanska Tumulus (Vratza region, Bulgaria)

 

 

 

 

Fig 5 –  Glass bead and ‘face bead’ from Mavrova Tumulus (Starosel, Plovdiv region, Bulgaria)

 

 

 

 

Also interesting, from an artistic perspective, is a gold ‘Janus head’ pendant (fig. 6) executed in a repossé technique and decorated filigreé and granulation, discovered in the Shumen region of northeastern Bulgaria, and dated to the same period. Executed in the same ‘plastic style’ as the Mezek chariot artifacts from southern Bulgaria (see the Mezek Chariot Burial’ article), from a morphological and stylistic perspective the closest analogies are the Celtic ‘bead heads’ found among the Celts of central and eastern Europe, examples of which come from sites such as Mangalia, Piscolt and Vác (Rustoiu 2008), as well as from sites in Bulgaria such as the aforementioned Appolonia Pontica (Sozopol), Mogilanska Tumulus (Vratza region), Mavrova Tumulus (Starosel, Plovdiv region), Burgas, Kavarna (Dobruja region), etc.

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 6 – Gold Celtic ‘Janus Head’ pendant from Schumen region, northeastern Bulgaria (4th/3rd c. BC)

(after Rustoiu A. (2008) ‘Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde’ – A double faced gold pendant from the History Museum of Schumen (Bulgaria) and the glass masked-beads. In: Instrumentum. No. 27. June 2008. P. 10-12)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Modern) Sources Cited

 

1. Harding D.W. The Archaeology of Celtic Art. London/New York. 2007. P. 7-8.

2. Lazarov 2010:105 and figs. 5/4 – 5/6; see also New Celtic Material from Bulgaria articles 1 + 2.

3. Kvinto 1985 = Квинто Л., Келтски материали от III– I в. пр. н.е. в тракийското селище на Царeвец – ВТУ, XI пролетен колоквиум, юбилеен сборник на възпитаници от ИФ, т. II, 1985.

4. BAS (Bulgarian Academy of  Science) Reports, 2005 = Археологически Институт с Музей – БАН. Археологически открития и разкопки през през 2004 г. XLIV Национална Археологическа Конференция. София 2005 P. 136 – 137

5. See ‘Killing the Objects’ article.

6. Tonkova, Gotzev 2008. See ‘Killing the Objects’ article with relevant cites.

7. Harding op cit; See also Megaw V, Megaw R. Celtic Art : From Its Beginnings to the Book of Kells. London 1989.

8. V. Megaw, personal communication. I would like to express my gratitude to Prof. Megaw for his expert opinion on this issue.

9. Konova L. = Конова Л. 2005. Магия и погребален обред. Глинени култови фигури от некропола на Аполония Понтика – In: HEROS HEPHAISTOS. Studia in Liubae Ognenova-Marinova, Veliko Tarnovo, 148-164.

10. Dimitrova 2003 = Димитрова Д. 2003. Маврова могила при Старосел – In: Пътят. Сборник научни статии, посветен на живота и творчеството на д-р Г. Китов, 73-87

11. Karayotov 1976 = Карайотов И. 1976. Могилни погребения в района на Нефтохимическия комбинат край Бургас – Известия на музеите от Югоизточна България, т.І, 51 – 71

12. See note 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serdi/Serdica

 

UD – June 2015 

 

 

 

 

 

Although Celtic presence in the area of today’s Bulgarian capital, Sofia, is testified to by numismatic and archaeological evidence from the La Têne B period (early 3rd c. BC), it is not until the 2^nd half of the 1^st c. BC that the Serdi tribe enters written history (on the Celtic Serdi tribe see also Kazarov, 1910, 1919; Gerov 1967, 1968; Boardman J., Edwards I.E.S., Sollberger E., Hammond N.G.L. 1992: 600; Duridanov 1997).

 

 

In 29 BC the Roman general M. Licinius Crassus, after defeating the Bastarnae in the area of today’s northwestern Bulgaria, was attacked on his retreat towards Macedonia by the Scordisci Serdi and Meldi tribes, through whose territory he passed (Dio Cass. 51,25-27; on the reading of Meldi in Dio Cass. see Kazarov 1910). The following year (28 BC) Crassus returned with another army and ‘punished’ the Meldi and Serdi for their attacks on him the previous year. Another branch of the Scordisci, the Artacoi, also appear for the first time during these events, and during the second half of the 1^st c. BC large numbers of the Celtic population of western Bulgaria, including the Serdi, migrated eastwards into the central Thracian Mountains (Haemus/Balkans) in order to escape the Roman advance (see: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2012/05/12/the-scordisci-wars/ )

 

 

 

Inscribed cult relief bearing a dedication to the Celtic tribal God Scordus (Sofia region 4^th – 3^rd c. BC) (After Manov 1993)

 

 

 

Between the Danube and Balkan mountains, topographical and archaeological evidence has identified the Celtic settlements of Burgaraca (Chekanchevo, Sofia region) (Beševliev 1968:416; Gerov 1968:355; Duridanov 1997:138; Mac Congail 2008:39); northwest of Sofia lay the Celtic settlement of Meldia (Dragoman, Sofia district) (Kazarov 1910: 22; Mac Congail 2007:299; Falileyev A. 2010 DCCPN); the settlements of Magaris and Magimias in the Tran district west of Sofia, where also lay the Celtic area of Loukonanta (the Valley of Lugh)(Duridanov 1997:135; Mac Congail 2008:39; Falilevev 2009:281).

In the Kavetzos area (north of Sofia in the hills between Vratza and Berkovica) two Celtic settlements have been identified – Άρχοϋνες / Arkounes (Falileyev 2009; 2010; cf. also Beševliev 1970:22; Duridanov 1997: 134-35) and Douriis/Δουρίες (Beševliev 1970:22; Duridanov 1997:135; Mac Congail 2007: 298, 2008:39; Falileyev 2009: 281). Slightly to the north were the Celtic settlements of Tautiomosis and Vorovum (today’s Kravoder, Vratza region) (Falileyev 2009: 282). As mentioned, the Bulgarian capital Sofia (Serdica) has long been identified by both Bulgarian and international academics as a settlement of the Celtic Serdi tribe (Kazarov 1910, 1919, 1926; Gerov 1967, 1968; Duridanov 1997; Boardman, Edwards, Sollberger, Hammond 1992, Mac Congail 2008).

 

 A substantial amount of Celtic (La Têne) archaeological  (and numismatic) material testifies to Celtic presence in the Sofia area from the 2^nd half of the 4^th c. BC until the Roman period. This includes La Têne material found at the villages of Aldomirovzi and Slivnitza (both Slivnitza district, Sofia region – Domaradzki 1984 – Домарадски М., Келтите на Бaлканския полуостров. София 1984), Ravno Pole (Elin Pelin district – see ‘Sacrifical Daggers, Swords and Settlements’ article), Jana (Kremikovzi district – Domaradzki op cit.), Lakatnik (Svoge district – loc cit), Muchovo (Ichtiman district – Domaradski 1984:147; Mac Congail/Krusseva 2010: 57-58), and Dragoman (Dragoman district – loc cit) – all in the Sofia region.

 

 

 

Plan of the Celtic cult complex from Muchovo, Ichtiman district (Sofia region). This structure, with dimensions of 3.5 x 2.5 m., bears all the hallmarks of a ‘Tower of Silence’, where corpses were exposed to be devoured by scavengers and birds of prey, in line with Celtic religious practice.

(Drawing after Domaradski 1984)

 

 

 

 

Particularly interesting is the concentration of Celtic material discovered in the Gorna Malina district of Sofia, where La Têne material has been found at the villages of Markazevo (Domaradzki 1984), Gorna Malina itself, and at Bailovo. Among these finds one should note the La Têne B sword from Bailovo, the earliest Celtic sword yet found in Bulgaria, and therefore relating chronologically to the first stage of Celtic migration into this part of the Balkans (late 4^th c. BC), and a Celtic shield of the Karaburma type from Gorna Malina (loc cit). A Celtic warrior burial complete with a (ritually bent) La Têne sword, spear and Celtic ceramic was also discovered in the Poduaine area of Sofia City at the beginning of the 20^th c.  (Кацаров Г., България в древността. Историко-археологически очерк.  Популярна археологическа библиотека, No. 1. София 1926. P. 41).

 

 

 

 

Celtic zoomorphic ram figurine/attachment from Celtic ceramic (firepot) found at Boznik, Pernik region to the west of Sofia. Such ceramic has been located in the Sofia region at the villages of Jana and Muchovo, and in the Poduaine area of Sofia City.

see: https://www.academia.edu/5046182/Zoomorphic_Cult_Firepots

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic numismatic material discovered in the Sofia region ranges from Celtic Paeonia type tetradrachms (4^th – 3^rd c. BC) from the Pernik, Breznik and Kovachevtsi areas to the west of Sofia (Мушмов Н. (1912) Антични монети на Балканския полуостров. София; Forrer R. (1908)  Keltische Numismatik der Rhein und Donaulände; Gaebler H. (1935)  Die antiken Münzen von Makedonia und Paionia. – In: Die antiken Münzen Nord-Griechenlands, III, 2. Berlin; see also numismatics section 11), Scordisci coinage dated between 270-250 BC from the village of Ogoia (IGCH #435; Dimitrov 2010: 55-56); Celtic Philip III and II type tetradrachms and drachms (III – I c. BC) have been registered at the village of Chavdar (Sofia region) and the environs of Sofia city. Another large hoard of  Celtic ‘Philip III’ type coins  has been recorded from the village of Vrachesh, in the Botevgrad district (western Sofia Region) (Gerassimov, T. Kolektivni nachodki na moneti, IAI, XVII, 1950, 322), close to the aforementioned concentration of Celtic archaeological material around the Gorna Malina area.

Celtic Strymon/Trident bronze issues, and Celtic ‘Thasos type’ tetradrachms have also been found in the Sofia area, both of the latter types dating to the II-I c. BC. Particularly noteworthy is a massive hoard of Celtic ‘Thasos’ coins discovered at the village of Churek (Elin Pelin district, Sofia region). The sheer size of this hoard, which included over 7 kilograms of silver tetradrachms (Филов, Б. 1913; Head, B. 1967:266; Мушмов Н.1912: 5651 and 3940; see numismatics section 2 with relevant lit.), suggests that this type of Celtic coinage was produced in the Sofia area by the Celtic Serdi tribe in the II – I c. BC, although indications are that Sofia/Serdica itself was not a significant settlement during this period.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Congail