brittany and the atlantic rim in the later first millennium bc.pdf

8/11/2019 Brittany and the Atlantic Rim in the Later First Millennium BC.pdf

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BARRY CUNLIFFE

BRITTANY AND THE ATLANTIC RIM IN THE LATER FIRSTMILLENNIUM BC

Summary. Recent work on the Iron Age of Brittany, in particular on the

ceramics and the decorated stone stelae, has emphasized the distinctive nature

of Armorican culture while demonstrating links with Continental Europe. We

argue that it is possible to recognize changing axes of communication between

the Atlantic facade and more easterly areas first along the Loire, later along

the Seine and finally, as the result of Greek exploration, along the Garonne.These changes are considered against the background of the developing

socio-economic systems of west central and Mediterranean Europe.

In 1882 M. de Coatgoureden discovered a finely decorated pottery jar while levelling a

barrow in his field at Saint-Pol-de-Leon in Finistere (Figure 1). After a somewhat chequered

history the vessel was eventually donated to the Museum of Morlaix where it has since occupied aplace of honour, apart from its not infrequent appearances at national and international exhibitions

as the prime exemplar of Armorican Celtic art. This remarkable find was presented to thearchaeological world in Revue Archeologique (Du Chatellier 1891). Du Chatellier was familiar

with decorated pottery of this kind having recovered a similar vessel at Kelouer in Plouhinec at

about the same time as the Saint-Pol-de-Leon pot came to light (Du Chatellier 1883). Republishing

both together in hisLa Poterie aux epoques prehistorique et gauloise en Armorique(Du Chatellier

1897, pl. 14), in the context of an array of comparable Iron Age decorated wares from Henon and

elsewhere, he concluded that the pots were local products copying imported metal vessels from the

east par quelque navigateur contournant les Cotes dArmorique, peut-etre, pour aller chercher de

letain aux les Cassiterides (ibid., 22). As to the decoration of the Saint-Pol-de-Leon vessel hedrew attention to the finely decorated metalwork from northern France and the Low Countries

identifying, in particular, the close parallels provided by the helmets from Amfreville and Berru

and the fittings from Eigenbilsen and the vehicle burial of La Bouvandau. Thus, by the end of the

nineteenth century Du Chatellier had firmly established, not only the remarkable flowering of La

Tene art in western Armorica but also the close links that must then have existed between the

extremity of the peninsula and innovating schools of metalworkers who were serving the elite of

the Marne region and thereabouts in the late fifth and early fourth centuries BC. That trade in tin

may have been a causative factor linking distant regions he was prepared to consider.There the matter rested. Dechelettes Manuel reminded the world of the decorated La

Tene wares from Brittany illustrating the notable vessels from Saint-Pol-de-Leon, Plouhinec,Henon and Primelin and others and making general comparisons with the decorated wares of

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY 19(4) 367386 2000 Blackwell Publishers Ltd. 2000, 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UKand 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148, USA. 367


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south-western Britain (Dechelette 1914, 14679). Meanwhile Reginald Smith, reporting on adecorated bronze vessel (then thought to be a hanging bowl) found at Cerrig-y-Drudion in north

Wales in 1924, drew attention to the close similarities of the design to the Breton pottery

vessels (Smith 1926, 279). Twenty years later a further array of decorated sherds was illustratedin Wheelers Pottery scrapbook appended to the report of his fieldwork campaigns in north-

western France (Wheeler and Richardson 1957, figs. 2830). From the mid 1950s, largely as

the result of work of Pierre-Roland Giot and his colleagues, many assemblages of Iron Age

pottery found during salvage excavations were published in the pages ofAnnales de Bretagne

(Vols. 5980) and in the two volumes of the Travaux of the University of Rennes (Giot, Le

Roux and Onnee 1968; Giot, Lecerf and Onnee 1971). The 1971 publication illustrated in full,

for the first time, the assemblage from La Blavet, Henon (CdA) which included the elaboratelydecorated bowls referred to in passing by Du Chatellier, Dechelette and others.

Figure 1

The pottery vessels from Saint-Pol-de-Leon, Finistere (left) and Kelouer, Plouhinec, Finistere (right) in the original

illustration published by Paul du Chatellier in La Poterie aux epoques prehistorique et gauloise en Armorique

(Rennes 1897).

BRITTANY AND THE ATLANTIC RIM

OXFORD JOURNAL OF ARCHAEOLOGY

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The first systematic review of the La Tene style decorated wares from Brittany waspublished in 1969 by Frank Schwappach based on a literature survey and museum visits in

1963 and 1964 (Schwappach 1969). Schwappach brought together material from 44 sites and

systematized it into four stylistic groups:

I The Final Hallstatt groupfrom the end of the sixth or the beginning of the fifth centuries.

Characterized by horizontal bands of repetitive stamped geometric motifs, rarely

curvilinear, with occasional vertical bands (Figure 2). The closest parallels appear to liein the north-west Alpine region and northern Italy.

Figure 2

Stamped pottery of Hallstatt date from Brittany: 1 Bagatelle, St. Martin-des-Champs, Finistere; 2 Roz-an tre-men,

Finistere; 3 Kervellec, Morlaix-Ploujean, Finistere. 1 and 2 after Wheeler and Richardson 1957, fig. 26, 3 after LeGoffic 1996, fig. 47. Scale

.

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II The transitional group, dating to the second half of the fifth century. Decoration is again in

bands with plain zones between. New motifs, including interlocking arcs, reflect

inspiration of the eastern Celtic province of the La Tene A.

III The arc style (Bogenstil), from the beginning of the fourth century until the second half of

the fourth century. Horizontal bands of decoration incorporating a variety of arc motifs in

various combinations. Characteristic of La Tene A and B1 in eastern areas of the La Teneprovince.

IV The metal style (Metallstil)from the beginning of the fourth century until the second half of

the fourth century. Decorated with elaborate curvilinear motifs derived from La Tene

metalwork (Figure 3). Two sub-groups were identified, a southern group (to which the

vessel from Plouhinec belongs) which can be compared to motifs used in central Europe

and a northern group (including the vessels from Saint-Pol-de-Leon, Henon, etc.) which

has very close parallels with the high quality metalwork of west central Europe and inparticular the Marne region, as Du Chatellier had already noted.

The particular value of Schwappachs survey was his systematic presentation of theconsiderable array of decorative motifs adopted and his thorough assessment of comparable

designs from the rest of Europe. In what amounts to a review article of Schwappachs work

Giot, while accepting the utility of the classificatory scheme, was cautious of assigning suchprecise dates to the different styles (Giot 1971).

In the 30 years following the appearance of Schwappachs work much new material

has been published. Assemblages from 12 sites were collected in the Travaux(Giot, Lecerf and

Onnee 1971) and major collections from new excavations have more recently been published in

full most notably Le Braden, Quimper (Le Bihan 1984), Le Moulin de la Rive, Locquirec (Giot,

Daire and Querre 1986), LIle des Ebihens, Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer (Langouet 1989), La

Boisanne, Plouer-sur-Rance (Menez 1996), Kervellec, Morlaix-Ploujean (Le Goffic 1996),Bellevue, Augan (Hinguant et al. 1997) and Keralio, Pont-LAbbe (Hinguant and Le Goff

Figure 3

Pottery decorated in the vegetal style: 1 and 2 Blavet, Henon, Cotes-dArmor. After Wheeler and Richardson 1957,

fig. 30. 3 Pendreff, Commana, Finistere. After Le Roux and Giot 1965, fig. 4. Scale .





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1998). By far the greater part of the pottery published since 1970 has been of Late Iron Age

date (with the important exception of the cemetery of Kervellec). A thorough overview of allLate Iron Age pottery from Armorica prepared by Marie-Yvanne Daire, surveying finds from

some 96 sites, now ensures that a wide range of data is accessible in the context of a coherent

discussion (Daire 1992). Pottery of the Early and Middle Iron Age has also received attentionrecently in a paper dealing with Armorican burials of the ninth to third centuries (Milcent

1993). Milcent, in studying both the rim form and decoration of Armorican pottery, has

suggested that the vessels may be divided into six successive chronological groups spanning the

period from the end of the sixth century to the beginning of the third century. In this scheme the

first interlocking arc motifs appear at the beginning of group IV (La Tene A) in the mid-fifthcentury while the classicMetallstil decoration is characteristic of group V (La Tene B1) dating

to the first half of the fourth century. The sequence and its chronology are based entirely on

typological and stylistic arguments but it is internally consistent and provides a convenient

scheme for ordering the decorated wares.

In the second edition ofPrehistoire de la Bretagne Giot provides a useful and well-illustrated survey of Armorican Iron Age pottery development (Giot, Briard and Pape 1995,

30548) summing up much of what had gone before.

A second body of evidence, the famous stelae of Brittany, are of direct relevance to thepresent discussion. Once more it was Du Chatellier who was first to present the potential of the

Iron Age stelae to the archaeological world with his publication of the now-famous engraved

stone from Kermaria, Pont-LAbbe (F) (Du Chatellier 1898) (Figure 4). Giots review of the

engraved stelae (Giot 1952) and his later overview of the entire class of monuments (Giot 1959)

provided the essential basis for further study. Since then many new discoveries have been made

and regional reviews have been published for Leon (Daire and Giot 1989) and western

Morbihan (Tinguy 1997). The recent discovery of two decorated stelae in well stratifiedarchaeological contexts, at Kerviguerou, Melgven in 1991 and Keralio, Pont-LAbbe in 1995

(Figure 5), both in Finistere, has reopened the debate about the date and origins of these

remarkable monuments and has led to an important review of the entire question (Daire and

Villard 1996).

It is now possible to list 11 decorated stelae, 9 of which occur in a restricted area of

south-west Finistere. Leaving aside for the moment one of the outliers, the stone at Saint-Anne,

Tregastel (CdA), the stelae share the same basic decorative concept that of overall decorationdivisible into three broad zones which may be characterized at top, shaft and base. The top and

base zones comprise horizontal bands of repetitive motifs which usually include Greek key and

running spirals but may also involve chevrons. The shafts between are variously treated withvertical bands, zigzags and chevrons. The squat stela from Kermaria, Pont-LAbbe conforms to

the same broad scheme but the shaft, in this case much foreshortened, is ornamented with four

differently patterned quadrilateral panels. The stela from Saint-Anne, Tregastel differs in thatthe main decorative panels are vertical and incorporate complex free-flowing curvilinear

motifs.

In their discussion of the schemes adopted by the Armorican stone carvers, Daire and

Villard draw together a range of comparanda which demonstrate the Europe-wide occurrence

of the various motifs found on a variety of materials usually of Late Hallstatt and Early La Tene

date (Daire and Villard 1996, 14753). The most thought-provoking is the very close parallel

provided by the Ionic columns of Temple D at Metapontum on the Gulf of Taranto in southernItaly. In considering the chronology of the stelae they suggest a fifth century BC date on the

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Figure 4Stela from Kermaria, Pont-LAbbe, Finistere. From the original photograph published in du Chatellier 1898.





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basis that the decorative style has certain similarities to the stamp-decorated pottery of the LateHallstattEarly La Tene transition. The Saint-Anne stela is allowed to be a little later since its

free vegetal style of decoration is more comparable to the metal style pottery of the fourth

century.

There can be little doubt that the decorated stelae, and the broadly related fluted stelae

(steles a cannelures longitudinals), which concentrate in much the same region of southern

Finistere, constitute a notable regional phenomenon raising many intriguing questions. Theobvious parallel is with the fluted columns of the Greek Mediterranean and it would be possible

to construct a simple scenario for the inspiration having arrived along the Atlantic sea-ways in

the wake of the tin trade or in the context of early voyages of exploration from the

Mediterranean, but such claims may stretch our credulity and it may be simpler to view thedevelopment as an essentially local phenomenon arising from deeply rooted tradition. After all,

Figure 5

The decoration on the stela from Kerviguerou, Melgven, Finistere. Redrawn after Daire and Villard 1996, fig. 2.

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the concept of the standing stone has a long ancestry in Armorica. So too does the tradition of

covering the surfaces of stones with carving. It may even be worth mentioning in this contextthat running spirals and chevrons were favoured motifs in the Irish passage graves. Could it not

be that, in the broad Atlantic tradition, there existed a repertoire of symbols, embedded in a

continuum of beliefs, which from time to time emerged into archaeological visibility. At othertimes these symbols may have been kept alive in a variety of visual media like painting,

weaving or body decoration. This said, the emergence of the decorated stelae in the fifth

century at just about the time that pottery was fast developing as a medium for visual display

suggests that new social forces were at work which deserve further consideration.

Before looking at the evidence from Armorica in any detail it is necessary to saysomething of developments in other parts of Gaul and western Europe.

In the Late Hallstatt period there developed, in west central Europe, an elite system

characterized as a prestige goods economy, which occupied a broad arc of territory north of the

Alps extending from Burgundy to southern Germany. This zone may most conveniently be

called the West Hallstatt Chiefdoms (Cunliffe 1997, 5163). Geographically it occupies the hubof western Europe encompassing the upper reaches of all the major river systems the

RhoneSaone, the Seine, the Rhine and Moselle and the Danube. Thus, all the major routes

passed through the zone: those who commanded the routes were able to dominate the flow ofcommodities. That exchange of goods took place at an elite level is clear from the quantity of

Mediterranean products (Attic pottery, Greek and Etruscan bronzes and Massaliot wine) that

found its way into burials and settlements of the West Hallstatt chieftains. What commodities

passed from west central Europe to the Mediterranean is debatable. Among those that have

been suggested, metals, furs and slaves are the most likely. While the dating of this

development cannot be precise, it is generally agreed the major phase of activity lay within the

bracket 540450 BC.During the fifth century the centre of power and innovation shifted northwards in a

broad arc stretching from the Seine to the Danube with foci of elite power developing in the

Marne, Moselle and Bohemia. These systems were at their most intense in the period 450400

BC after which there is evidence of increasing dislocation associated with movements of

population, usually referred to as the Celtic migrations (Cunliffe 1997, 6890).

The shift in the focus of innovation and power, from the Burgundysouthern Germany

zone in the late sixth and early fifth centuries to the MarneMoselle region in the middle of thefourth century, is a matter of some potential interest to the present discussion if it is accepted

that the innovating centres stimulated long-distance exchanges. We will argue that this was so

and that, in the desire of these polities and others to obtain tin from Brittany and Cornwall, asuccession of trade routes developed that reflected the changing political geography of western

central Europe.

Some indication of the importance of tin is provided by the classical sources. Thescarce details have frequently been rehearsed and pored over with much scholarly attention

(Maxwell 1972; Hawkes 1977) though it should be stressed that, given the partial, ambiguous

and downright muddled nature of the references, the ancient texts are insufficient to sustain a

complex or elaborate edifice of interpretation. The relevant quotations are few. Pliny the Elder,

writing in the first century AD, makes brief reference to a Carthaginian explorer, Himilco, who

at about the time of Hannos supposed circumnavigation of Africa, probably towards the end of

the fourth century, went to sea to explore the parts beyond Europe (extera Europae) (Nat.Hist. II, 169). Himilcos voyage is referred to in the Ora Maritima, a poem written by Avienus





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in the fourth century AD liberally quoting from much earlier sailing manuals going back to

perhaps as early as the sixth century BC. Mention ofgens Hiernorum(Irish people) andinsulaAlbionum(Britain) gives some indication of the possible northern extent of Himilcos voyage.

Avienus also notes that Tartessians and Carthaginians used to sail the Atlantic sea-ways to the

isles of the Oestrymnides a location often taken to be the south-west coastal region ofArmorica though more probably to be identified with Galicia. Thus, the texts of Avienus and

Pliny imply that Mediterranean sailors were familiar with the Atlantic routes and may on

occasions have directly participated in trade and exploration. It should, however, be stressed

that as a source the scraps of information offered by Avienus cannot be used with any

chronological confidence: indeed they are little better than dissociated anecdotes.Rather more assurance can be placed on the voyage of a Greek sailor, Pytheas,

undertaken towards the end of the fourth century. It is frequently referred to by Strabo using a

number of earlier sources and later writers like Pliny appear to have had access to data derived

from Pytheas original work (Roseman 1994). Among the places identified en routeis the cape

Kabaion, usually identified with La Pointe du Raz in the extreme south-west of Finistere, andOuxisamathought to be the Isles of Ouessant off the north-western coast of Finistere. Pytheas

journey took him much further north around the coasts of Britain.

The interest of Mediterranean seamen in the Atlantic coastal routes in the late fifth andfourth centuries is likely to have been motivated by the desire to acquire commodities for trade,

in particular tin from Armorica and Cornwall. It is possible that knowledge of tin coming from

those areas lay behind the rather hazy stories of the distant tin-producing islands of the

Cassiterides mentioned by Herodotus in the fifth century (Hist. III, 115) and Strabo in the first

century (Geog. 3.5.11) though with little geographical precision. It is clear from other sources

that Cornish tin was readily accessible. Pliny, using Pytheas, gives some details of the nature of

the trade (Nat. Hist. IV.30.16) but there seems to have been much mystery about it. Strabo,quoting Polybius, tells us that Scipio could glean little information about Britain from traders

questioned at the ports of Massalia, Narbo and Corbilo (Geog. 4.2.1). This would have been

about 135 BC and may reflect little more than the natural secrecy of those who were benefiting

from this specialist knowledge of the sea lanes. In another anecdote Strabo refers to the

strategies used by Publius Crassus, probably at about this time, in his attempts to discover the

routes by shadowing the ships of Phoenician traders (Geog. 3.5.11).

Although the emphasis of the classical sources is upon tin as the highly desirableproduct of these western regions we should not overlook the other commodities that were

potentially available. In addition to tin, found both in veins and in alluvial gravels, Armorica is

rich in copper and in alluvial gold (Briard 1965, 1525). Cornwall and Devon also had goodsources of arsenical copper as well as gold (Penhallurick 1997) while gold was available in

south Wales and southern Ireland (Eogan 1994, 812). Copper was also to be had in central and

northern Wales (Ixer and Budd 1998) and south-western Ireland (OBrien 1994). Thus, taking abroader view than that of the classical writers, we should see Armorica as simply one of the

many regions comprising a central Atlantic-facade metal-rich zone. It differed from the other

regions only in that it was the one most easily accessible to the main consumer centres in

Transalpine and Mediterranean Europe. To sum up the discussion so far, we have established

four broad themes:

The peninsular regions of the central Atlantic facade were a potential source of tin, copperand gold for the consuming areas of Europe.

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The three principal consuming areas were the West Hallstatt Chiefdoms, the MarneMoselle

region and the Mediterranean. Armorica occupied a focal position between producers and consumers.

The archaeological record in Armorica reflects changes brought about by long-distance

contact in the sixthfourth centuries BC.

We must now consider the Armorican archaeological record in a little more detail in the context

of the possible trade routes which developed during this time.In the period c.540450 BC, when the prestige goods economy of the West Hallstatt

Chiefdoms was at the height of its development, an isolated focus of power arose in the vicinityof Bourges at the confluence of the Auron and the Yevres, a tributary of the Cher which flowsinto the Loire down river from modern Tours. Bourges, in fact, occupies a vital positioncommanding the short land route between the upper reaches of the Loire, and thence the RhoneSaone system and the lower course of the river leading to the Atlantic. Within a radius of 3 km

around Bourges four rich cemeteries have so far been identified producing an array ofMediterranean imports including three beaked flagons, two stamnoi and parts of three cordonedbuckets as well as a number of fibulae (Gran-Aymerich 1995; Bouloumie 1973; 1976). From thetown of Bourges excavations since 1984 have yielded a significant collection of imported Black-and Red-figured Attic pottery of the period 530460 BC as well as a number of Massaliotamphorae (Gran-Aymerich 1995, 513). Taken together the evidence from the cemeteries andsettlement leaves little doubt that the elite of the Bourges area had ready access to Mediterraneantrade goods probably as the result of their ability to command supplies of metals and othercommodities coming from the productive Atlantic zone. The question which then arises is canthis exchange system be recognized in the products available to the Armorican elite? A number

ofexoticado indeed occur in reliable archaeological contexts and may for convenience be listed:

Spezet, Kerleonet (F)

Two bronze situlae (now lost), one inside the other, found in 1893 with a hoard of 89

Breton axes.

Du Chatellier 1901, 185203; Anon 1893, xxvxxvi; Briard 1965, 244; Bouloumie

1977, 812.

Crossac (LA)

Bronze situla found in 1843 together with a hoard of the Late Bronze Age, an antennae

hilted sword of Iron Age date and more recent items.

Briard 1965, 245; Bouloumie 1977, 35.

Le Rocher, Bono, Plougoumelen (M)

Cemetery comprising a number of burials two of which were furnished with imported

bronze vessels.Tumulus 1. Bronze cauldron found in 1867 associated with bones and two iron

bracelets. The cauldron is of a west central European type dating to the end of the sixth andbeginning of the fifth centuries.





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Lukis 1867; Du Chatellier 1907, 5960; Bouloumie 1977, 20; Chateiguer 1990a, 69;

Milcent 1993, 19, 323, pl. 2.Tumulus 2. Bronze situla covered by a bronze flanged basin found in 1872. The situla

contained cremated bones and an iron bracelet.

The situla is of the RhineTessin type of late sixthearly fifth century date. The basinwhich covered it had a flange stamped with a recurring S-motif. It is likely to be of Etruscan

origin manufactured in the late seventh or sixth century.

Galles 1873; Du Chatellier 1907, 5960; Bouloumie 1977, 1920; Chateiguer 1990a,

69; Milcent 1993, 19, 32, pls. 2 and 3.

Ty-Neuziganned, Caudan (M)

Ribbed bucket in bronze with an iron handle (now lost) found in 1822 in a dolmen.

Imported from central Europe or the Mediterranean. Probably of sixth century date. Marsille

1913; Chateiguer 1990a, 68; Milcent 1993, 20; Giot 1995, 229.

Kernavest, Quiberon (M)

Iron dagger in a scabbard decorated with a highly ornamented bronze mount. Found in

a cist with an inhumation under a tumulus. Probably fifth century in date. It is not clear whether

it is a local product or an import from west central Europe.

Reveliere 1894.

Kerity, Penmarch (F)

Fibula. Hallstatt leech-shaped type. ?Seventh century.Giot 1973; Duval, Eluere and Mohen 1974, 51.

Tronoan, Saint-Jean-Trolimon (F)

Two fibulae, one serpentiform and one leech-shaped. ?Seventh century.Duval, Eluere and Mohen 1974, 224.

Saint-Aignan (LA)

Fibula. Etruscan type. ?Late seventh century.De Lisle du Dreneuc and Durville 1903, pl. 14.

Nantes (LA)

Fibula, leech-shaped. Eighth to seventh century.Duval, Eluere and Mohen 1974, 45.

In addition to the items listed above we should note the 12 or so small bronze figurines

mostly from Finistere, which are usually described as Etrusco-Celtic or Italic (Chateiguer

1990a; Jannot 1995). Some or all of these may be genuine ancient imports but dating and placeof manufacture are in some doubt. We should also mention in this context the knobbed

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bracelets found at Saint-Galles, Arradon (M), Le Rocher, Bono, Plougoumelen (M), Lande de

Meslan, Lizio (M), and Kerviltre, Saint-Jean-Trolimon (F) which are either imports from westcentral Europe or local copies.

Of the imports listed here the situlae from Spezet and Crossac and the fibulae from

Kerity, Tronoan, Saint-Aignan and Nantes were probably made in the seventh century BC. Thebronze basin from Le Rocher could be as early as this but was found with a situla of the late

sixthearly fifth century type. The cauldron from Le Rocher and the ribbed bucket from

Caudan probably belong to this later date bracket.

The imported material has a distinctly southern Armorican bias which is reflected in

the concentration of stamped pottery of the sixthfifth centuries (Figure 6) though stampedpottery is also found at a few locations along the north-west coast of Leon and Tregor.

Taking the various strands of evidence together the southern coastal zone of Armoricastands out as an innovating region during the sixth and fifth centuries BC. The distribution ofstamped pottery provides the most convincing evidence of cultural cohesion throughout the

region showing that skilled potters had access to models presumably in the form of decoratedmetal vessels the decorative motifs of which provided them with their inspiration. We neednot suppose that the hypothetical models were all entirely of bronze. As the vessel fromMolinazzo dArbedo (Jacobsthal 1944 no. 395) reminds us turned wooden vessels with appliedbronze strips offer quite convincing parallels for Breton ceramic vessels like that from Kerviltre,Saint-Jean-Trolimon. The dagger sheath from Kernavest is a local example of the effective useof applied decorative bronze sheetwork. Nor are actual imported bronze vessels entirely lackingas an array of forms from Spezet, Crossac, Bono and Caudan amply demonstrate.

It is tempting to suggest that the development of the stamped pottery and the small

collection of imported metalwork concentrating in southern Armorica is the direct result of

sustained contact, via the Loire and the elite centre at Bourges, with the West Central HallstattChiefdoms. The readily available alluvial tin of southern Armorica, and perhaps the gold of the

interior, must surely have been the prime cause for the development of this axis of exchange. If

Hawkes (1977) is correct in arguing that the famous tin-producing islands the Oestrymnides

referred to so obscurely in the Massaliote Periplus, are likely to have lain along the r as of

Galicia in north-western Spain and are not, as Schulten and others following him thought, to be

conflated with theOstidaioireported by Pytheas at the end of the fourth century, and which can

be accepted to be in the extreme west of Armorica, then the Loire route may have been themain, and perhaps only, axis along which tin reached the Mediterranean through the West

Hallstatt intermediaries in the sixth and fifth centuries. If the elite of Bourges maintained a

monopolistic control of the exchange network by commanding the portage route, their ability toacquire Mediterranean luxury goods is convincingly explained.

It is, perhaps, worth pausing at this point to consider briefly the broader implications of

these interpretations. What we are suggesting is that at this period the Mediterranean worldacquired its west European tin through two entirely separate systems: from Armorica and

Cornwall via the LoireRhone axis to Massalia and from Galicia via the Atlantic coast of Iberia

to Gadir (modern Cadiz). Thus the one source passed through Greek control, the other through

Phoenician. The significant difference between the two was that while the Phoenicians were

able, if they wished, to deal direct with the suppliers, the Greeks had to trade through

middlemen and may well have had very little knowledge of the ultimate source of the metal.

Against this background subsequent developments, discussed below, may be more easilyunderstood.





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Figure 6Selected distributions of Iron Age material in Brittany.

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If we accept that, in the sixth and fifth centuries, the communities of southern

Armorica were engaged in intensive systems of exchange channelled along the Loire it isnecessary to ask what changes, if any, can be observed in Armorican society. Given the current

state of archaeological research the question is not easy to approach but two developments can

be described: a degree of hierarchization in burial rite reflecting the emergence of local elites;and the clearer definition of ethnic identity manifesting itself in highly decorated ceramics

and the remarkable group of decorated stelae concentrating in south-western Finistere. It may,

eventually, be possible to give a greater regional precision to these developments through a

more detailed assessment of pottery decoration but in the meantime the decorated stelae of the

south-west and the rich burials of the Morbihan point to two distinct polities.In the fifth century the geopolitics of western central Europe underwent a major

upheaval which saw the demise of the old chiefdoms and the emergence of a new zone of

power to the north stretching from Bohemia to the Marne. In the second half of the fifth century

the Marne and the Moselle regions emerged as centres dominated by warrior elites who

provided patronage for skilled craftsmen among them the innovative metalworkers whodeveloped a highly distinctive repertoire known as the La Tene art style (Megaw and Megaw

1989, 51106).

These events find a reflection in Armorica, most spectacularly in the appearance ofpottery decorated in a curvilinear style which was so evidently inspired by Early La Tene

metalwork (Schwappachs Metallstil). The most elegant of those vessels from Saint-Pol-de-

Leon, Kelouer (Plouhinec), Pendreff (Commana), Blavet (Henon) and Litiez (La Feuillee) have

a distinctly northern Armorican distribution extending as far east as the Rance estuary and it

may not be irrelevant that the one stela decorated with carving in the curvilinear vegetal style,

from Saint-Anne, Tregastel, comes from the same general region.

The close similarities between the style of decoration of the Armorican pottery andelite metalwork found in or close to the Marne region have long been recognized and were

considered in some detail by Schwappach (1969). That the Armorican potters gained their

inspiration from the highest quality metalwork produced by the Marnian masters is not in doubt

and since it can be shown that the pottery was a local product the implication is that high

quality metalwork was in circulation in Armorica in the late fifth and early fourth centuries

much of it coming ultimately from the Marne region or beyond. The virtual absence (to date) of

any bronze metalwork of this period in Armorica, whether imported or local, need occasion nosurprise given the rarity of large-scale excavation and the general acidity of the soil but finds

from western Britain and Ireland provide some idea of the kind of items in circulation (Figure

7). The most relevant of the British finds is the bronze vessel (or vessels) found in a stone cist atCerrig-y-Drudion, in Clwyd (north Wales). Whilst it is likely that the piece was made in Britain

(Stead 1982) the decoration strongly suggests that the British craftsman, and the creator of the

Saint-Pol-de-Leon pot, were inspired by the same repertoire of motifs originating in the Marneor Ardennes and now circulating in the Atlantic zone. A further link between potters and bronze

workers in the west is demonstrated by the very close parallels in form between bowls like the

decorated vessel from La Blavet, Henon, with its internally channelled rim ornamented with a

wavy line, and a series of bronze bowls from western Britain and Ireland most notably

Keshcarrigan (Co. Leitrim), Rose Ash (Devon), Youlton (Cornwall), Birdlip (Glos.) and

Bulbury (Dorset) (Cunliffe 1990). There can be little doubt that pottery bowls of the La Blavet

type, of which there are many in north-western Armorica, were directly inspired, in form anddecoration, by bronze bowls circulating widely in the Atlantic zone.





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The exact date range of these metal-inspired ceramics is still a matter of debate but on

stylistic grounds those with curvilinear motifs are most likely to have been made in the first half

of the fourth century but once established, vessel form and elements of the decoration couldhave continued well into the third century.

The other outstanding artefact of this period is the decorated helmet discovered by Du

Chatellier at Tronoan, Saint-Jean-Trolimon (F) in 1895. The helmet was made of iron,decorated with embossed bronze sheeting further enhanced with engraving and coral inlay

(Schaaff 1974; Schwappach 1977). It is one of a small group of decorated iron helmets found in

northern Italy and France dating to the Early La Tene period. Whether or not the Tronoanhelmet was made in Armorica is a matter of debate. It is however an item of considerable

prestige. The exact context in which the helmet was deposited is unclear but, having reviewed

the full range of other finds from Tronoan, Duval has suggested that the site may have been a

temple in use throughout the La Tene period (Duval 1990). If so then the helmet, together with

a large number of swords and spears found during the excavation, may be seen as votive

deposits. The helmet need not, therefore, have originated locally.

The north Armorican bias to the distribution of the La Tene-inspired pottery may befortuitous but it could imply that the axis of contact with the innovating centre of Europe had

Figure 7

Comparison between metal and pottery vessels of the mid La Tene I period. 1 Bronze bowl from Keshcarrigan, Co.

Leitrim, Ireland; 2 Bronze bowl from Rose Ash, Devon, England; 3 Pot from Blavet, Henon, Cotes-dArmor,

Brittany; 4 Pot from Hennebont, Cotes-dArmor, Brittany.

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now shifted from the Loire corridor to a more northerly route making use of the Seine to link

the consuming area of the Marne direct to the Atlantic sea-ways (Figure 8). From the mouth ofthe Seine it was a comparatively short distance around the Cotentin to the coast of Tregor or

Leon or even shorter if the Cotentin was crossed. A reorientation of this kind would be entirely

consistent with the shift in the centre of power to the Marne. That the Marne was, in some way,in contact with northern Armorica is implied by the local pottery developments. It could,

further, be argued that a development of this kind may well have stimulated local cycles of

exchange, linking Armorica with south-western Britain, Wales and Ireland, bringing morecommodities into circulation.

The development of an axis along the Seine in the late fifth and early fourth centuries

need not have led to a cessation of trade along the Loire but it could well have caused

significant diminution. These are matters difficult to examine further in the present state of

evidence, nor is it possible to judge how long a Seine route may have been in operation, but it is

probable that the dislocations caused by demographic readjustments associated with large-scale

folk movement in the MarneMoselle region brought intensive contact to an end after themiddle of the fourth century.

Figure 8

The main routes of communication between Brittany and adjacent areas in the Iron Age.





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The disruption caused by the Celtic migrations to established patterns of exchange

must have reverberated throughout Europe and sources of supply, upon which theMediterranean world had relied, may have become inaccessible as traditional networks were

severed. The remarkable voyages of the Greek explorer and astronomer Pytheas about 325 BC

may perhaps be seen in this context (Hawkes 1977). It will be argued elsewhere that he mayhave reached the Bay of Biscay overland along the AudeGaronne route not, as is usually

believed, by ship sailing around Iberia. At any event he seems to have begun his northern

exploration from the Gironde estuary. From here it was three days sail to south-western

Armorica (Ouexisame) and a further day to Cornwall (Belerion) before pushing northwards on

the first leg of the circumnavigation of Britain.Pytheas voyage firmly established the existence and exact location of the tin-rich area

of Armorica and Cornwall and their proximity to the Gironde. In doing so he may have been

responsible for opening up the direct route overland from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic

making Cornish and Armorican tin more readily accessible to Massalia than at any time

hitherto. By the beginning of the first century BC the route had been long established.Posidonius, writing c.90 BC, quoting the work of Pytheas, was probably the source for the

descriptions of the British tin trade repeated by Diodorus Siculus and Strabo.

From the third century BC it is likely that regular systems of exchange linked thecommunities of the Atlantic west to the Mediterranean. These systems probably changed little

until Caesars conquest of Gaul and the economic reorientation which followed. Some

reflection of the axis across Gaul via the AudeGaronneGironde route may be seen in the

development of the monnaie-a-la-croix coinages throughout the area, based on Greek

prototypes (Allen 1980, 539). Further to the west in Armorica and south-western Britain there

is little to indicate contact apart from a handful of Mediterranean coins though they are very

rarely found in well-stratified contexts (Milne 1948).The development of the trade in wine, following the annexation of the Provincia by the

Romans about 120 BC, introduced a new and archaeologically durable indicator of exchange

into the record. The distribution of Dressel 1A amphorae common in the late second and early

first centuries BC provides a clear picture of the Atlantic routes at the time (Cunliffe 1997, map

28) a picture which in all probability had changed little, except perhaps in intensity, over

200 years since Pytheas had opened up the direct route to the west.

Institute of Archaeology

36 Beaumont St

OxfordOX1 2PG

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