Prehistory of Brittany
Encyclopedia
Prehistory
Prehistory is the span of time before recorded history. Prehistory can refer to the period of human existence before the availability of those written records with which recorded history begins. More broadly, it refers to all the time preceding human existence and the invention of writing...
of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
Palaeolithic
Brittany was never glaciated during the QuaternaryQuaternary
The Quaternary Period is the most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the ICS. It follows the Neogene Period, spanning 2.588 ± 0.005 million years ago to the present...
, owing to its latitude, proximity to the coast and absence of significant mountain ranges. However, even though free of glaciers, Palaeolithic Brittany was extremely cold compared to its present climate, with annual mean temperatures at the last glacial maximum estimated at -3°C (27°F). Permafrost
Permafrost
In geology, permafrost, cryotic soil or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water for two or more years. Ice is not always present, as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock, but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of...
was present with only a very shallow active layer estimated at only 1 foot (30 cm) thawing each summer, so that only a very light (less than 5 percent) cover of tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
could grow. This vegetation could only support very low densities of grazing mammals like reindeer
Reindeer
The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...
, which (in Europe) are found today only in areas then uninhabitable due to the presence of thick ice sheet
Ice sheet
An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50,000 km² , thus also known as continental glacier...
s.
Consequently few if any people could survive in Brittany prior to the end of the last glaciation, and only a few Palaeolithic sites are known from Brittany, like the rock shelter of Perros-Guirec
Perros-Guirec
Perros-Guirec is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Perros-Guirec are called perrosiens.-Tourism:...
near Rochworn. The only cave site known so far is Roc'h Toul in a sandstone promontory near Guiclan (Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
). The cave contained about 200 artifacts and was dated to the late Magdalenian
Magdalenian
The Magdalenian , refers to one of the later cultures of the Upper Paleolithic in western Europe, dating from around 17,000 BP to 9,000 BP...
by de Mortillet. Because of the presence of points with curved backs, it is now connected with the epipalaeolithic Azilian
Azilian
The Azilian is a name given by archaeologists to an industry of the Epipaleolithic in northern Spain and southern France.It probably dates to the period of the Allerød Oscillation around 10,000 years ago and followed the Magdalenian culture...
. Other Azilian sites include Parc-an-Plenen and Enez Guennoc.
Mesolithic
The best-known mesolithicMesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
sites from Brittany are the cemeteries on the islands of Hoëdic
Hoëdic
Hoëdic is an island off the south coast of Brittany in north-western France. Its bigger "twin sister" island is Houat.Administratively, Hoëdic is a commune in the Morbihan department.-References:* * -External links:* *...
(10 graves) and Téviec (9 graves) in Morbihan
Morbihan
Morbihan is a department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.-History:...
. The collective graves are placed in shell middens without any particular order. Some graves show evidence of postmortal manipulations of the bones. There are single burials and empty graves (cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
s) as well. The graves are covered with stones, a hearth
Hearth
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...
or antler
Antler
Antlers are the usually large, branching bony appendages on the heads of most deer species.-Etymology:Antler originally meant the lowest tine, the "brow tine"...
s forming a sort of dome. Rich funeral gifts, flint tools, engraved bones, shell ornaments and ochre
Ochre
Ochre is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as "red ochre". The more rarely used terms "purple ochre" and "brown ochre" also exist for variant hues...
demonstrate the affluence of these hunter-gatherers, or rather fisher-gatherers. Certain shells are sex-specific.
In Teviec there are stone cist
Cist
A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East....
graves. The bones of an infant have been postmortally ornamented with striations.
The corresponding settlements consist of shell middens. A radiocarbon date
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
of 4625 (uncal.) for Hoëdic places it in the 6th Millennium BC cal, rather late in the Mesolithic sequence, and indeed there are some indications of contact with agricultural societies to the East. Their economy was based on marine resources. Recently, a number of accelerator dates have been published for Hoëdic.
In Beg an Dorchenn in Plomeur (Finistère), domestic dog and cattle were already present, in Dissignac, microlith
Microlith
A microlith is a small stone tool usually made of flint or chert and typically a centimetre or so in length and half a centimetre wide. It is produced from either a small blade or a larger blade-like piece of flint by abrupt or truncated retouching, which leaves a very typical piece of waste,...
s were associated with pollen
Pollen
Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the...
evidence for clearances.
Some scholars speculate that megalithic graves might go back to the Mesolithic, but this contention is difficult to prove, as most structures have been reused. Large numbers of microliths have been found under the chambered tomb of Dissignac :fr:Tumulus de Dissignac.
Neolithic
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
from the eastern edge of the Breton Massif for bracelets in settlements in the Paris Bassin attests to widespread trade. A bracelet of polished stone found in a grave in the VSG-settlement of Jablines
Jablines
Jablines is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-External links:* * * *...
Les-Longues-Raies was made of amphibolite
Amphibolite
Amphibolite is the name given to a rock consisting mainly of hornblende amphibole, the use of the term being restricted, however, to metamorphic rocks. The modern terminology for a holocrystalline plutonic igneous rocks composed primarily of hornblende amphibole is a hornblendite, which are...
from the island of Groix
Groix
Groix is an island and a commune in the Morbihan department of the region of Brittany in north-western France.Groix lies a few kilometres of the coast off Lorient. Several ferries a day run from Lorient to Groix....
in southern Morbihan, proves trade with local Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
communities.
The earliest long mounds date to the mid-5th millennium (Barnenez
Barnenez
The Cairn of Barnenez is a Neolithic monument located near Plouezoc'h, on the Kernéléhen peninsula in northern Finistère, Brittany...
). The early passage grave
Passage grave
thumb|250px|right|A simple passage tomb in [[Carrowmore]] near [[Sligo]] in IrelandA passage grave or passage tomb consists of a narrow passage made of large stones and one or multiple burial chambers covered in earth or stone. Megaliths are usually used in the construction of passage tombs, which...
s generally date to between 4000 and 3000 bc, followed by evolved passage graves between 3000-2500 bc. In the later part of the Neolithic, allées couvertes and simple dolmen
Dolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
s became the predominant type of burial monument.
Some passage graves are decorated with incised lines, of which Gavrinis
Gavrinis
Gavrinis is a small island, situated in the Gulf of Morbihan in Brittany, France. It contains the Gavrinis tomb, a megalithic monument notable for its abundance of megalithic art in the European Neolithic. Administratively, it is part of the commune of Larmor-Baden.-Geography:Reachable by boat...
is probably the best known example.
Some scholars see an influence of the central European Linearbandkeramic culture in the finds from the longmounds of Mané Ty Ec and Mané Pochat er Ieu (Morbihan
Morbihan
Morbihan is a department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.-History:...
), but this should rather be connected to the la Hoguette
La Hoguette
-Personalities:La Hoguette was the birthplace of Georges Marchais , head of the French Communist Party.-External links:* La Hoguette...
tradition, ultimately of Cardial
Cardial
The term cardial can refer to:* cardial or cardiac, pertaining to the heart * Cardial Ware, a Neolithic decorative style...
extraction.
Carn-pottery, thin walled round based deep bowls, often with applied crescents (croissants) is typical for early chambered tombs. It is found in Finistère, Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique
Loire-Atlantique is a department on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.-History:...
.
Middle Neolithic settlements include La Motte, La Butte-aux-Pierres and Lannic. They mainly concentrate on the Coast. The pottery shows Chasséen influences. Bowls are still round-bottomed, but with s-shaped profiles and vertically perforated lug
Lug (knob)
A Lug is a typically flattened protuberance, a knob, or extrusion on the side of a vessel: pottery, jug, glass, vase, etc. They are sometimes found on prehistoric ceramics/stone-vessels such as pots from Ancient Egypt, Hembury ware, claw beakers, and boar spears.A lug may also only be shaped as a...
s. Some geometric decoration occurs, but is rather rare. Vase-supports of Chassey-type are found as well, the Breton variety has been named the Er Lannic type and is characterised by triangular perforations, while the examples found in the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
show circular perforations. Other local pottery types include Castellic grooved ware, Souc'h-ware, and Colpo-type ware.
Stone circle
Stone circle
A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....
s like Er Lannic
Er Lannic
Er Lannic is a small island in the commune of Arzon, in the Morbihan department in Brittany in northwestern France. Er Lannic is a bird reserve and also the site of two stone circles, the southern of which is submerged.- External links :*...
(a double oval of standing stones and a ditch) sometimes contain settlement material and pottery of Chasséen-type.
By the middle of the 3rd century, the Kerugou, upper and lower Conguel and Rosmeur/Croh Collé types became preponderant.
Seine-Oise-Marne culture
Seine-Oise-Marne culture
The Seine-Oise-Marne or SOM culture is the name given by archaeologists to the final culture of the Neolithic and first culture of the Chalcolithic in northern France and southern Belgium....
-influenced pottery in central Brittany includes the Quessoy and Crec'h Quille/Le Melus types. Collared bottles can be related to the Kragenflaschenhorizont of the late TBK.
From the late 3rd millennium, Grand-Pressigny flint
Flint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
was imported in some quantity. Some type of Breton axes were exported. For example, dolerite axes made at Plussulien have been found in Britain. The dolmen Mané-Lud at Locmariaquer
Locmariaquer
Locmariaquer is a commune in the Morbihan department in Brittany in north-western France.It lies south of Auray by road.-Coat of arms:This coat of arms was created 30 years ago by the local artist Jean-Baptiste Corlobé...
is thought to show a picture of a boat.
Beaker material is known from some settlement sites, for example Kastel Koz, other beakers were found in rivers. Marine beakers predominate, AOC-decoration is found in Southern Brittany. Small gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
plaques are known from beaker graves, in Kerouaren a diadem has been found.
There is no indication that the beaker people already exploited the Armorican metal deposits.
Bronze age
The early Bronze ageBronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
culture is commonly believed to have grown out of Beaker roots, with some Wessex
Wessex culture
The Wessex culture is the predominant prehistoric culture of central and southern Britain during the early Bronze Age, originally defined by the British archaeologist Stuart Piggott in 1938...
and Unetice
Unetice culture
Unetice; or more properly Únětice culture ; is the name given to an early Bronze Age culture, preceded by the Beaker culture and followed by the Tumulus culture. It was named after finds at site in Únětice, northwest of Prague. It is focused around the Czech Republic, southern and central Germany,...
influence. In the early Bronze Age, rich individual graves are found under barrow
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
s, which indicates a complete change of the social structure. The Breton barrows have been divided into two series by Cogné and Guiot, the first dating from 1900-1600 bc, the second to 1600-1400 bc. The barrows of the first series can be up to 50 m in diameter and 6 m high. They are found in Western Brittany, along the coast, the Blavet
Blavet
The Blavet river flows from central Brittany and enters the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast near Lorient. The river is canalized for most of its length and is navigable for smaller craft. It is part of Brittany's canal system and became more important when the western half of that system got cut...
river and at the southern border of the Monts d'Arrée
Monts d'Arrée
The Monts d'Arrée are an ancient mountain range in western Brittany which forms part of the Armorican massif. Historically it marked the border of the regions of Cornouaille and Léon....
. A few examples have been recorded from Normandy. The barrows contain a small cairn over a stone cist, wooden coffin or dry stone structure containing the burial. Often the chambers are covered by large stone slabs. Sometimes roofed mortuary houses are found, for example at St. Jude en Bourbriac. The stone cist
Cist
A cist from ) is a small stone-built coffin-like box or ossuary used to hold the bodies of the dead. Examples can be found across Europe and in the Middle East....
s can be quite large, up to 4 m long, but always only contain a single body. Grave gifts include amber
Amber
Amber is fossilized tree resin , which has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber is used as an ingredient in perfumes, as a healing agent in folk medicine, and as jewelry. There are five classes of amber, defined on the basis of their chemical constituents...
beads, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
cups, gold-hilted daggers (Saint Adrien), tanged flint arrowhead
Arrowhead
An arrowhead is a tip, usually sharpened, added to an arrow to make it more deadly or to fulfill some special purpose. Historically arrowheads were made of stone and of organic materials; as human civilization progressed other materials were used...
s and stone axe
Axe
The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...
s. Because of these rich grave goods
Grave goods
Grave goods, in archaeology and anthropology, are the items buried along with the body.They are usually personal possessions, supplies to smooth the deceased's journey into the afterlife or offerings to the gods. Grave goods are a type of votive deposit...
, J. Briard sees them as burials of warrior-priests. Certainly not everybody was buried in this way, but nothing is known of "commoner-burials", especially as bones are not normally preserved in the acidic soils of Brittany. The gold-pin decoration of the dagger hilts and the amber-beads show close connection to the Wessex-culture, but there are technical differences.
The barrow of Kernonen en Plouvorn, Finistère, provides a good example of a rich burial of the first series.
The barrows of the second series are a bit smaller and show a more inland-distribution. They do not normally contain metal, but numerous pottery vessels, high biconical vessels, sometimes with a geometric decoration under the rim, or single four-handled undecorated pots. There seems to be no division of the grave goods by gender.
Glass-beads are found in some graves, for example at Mez-Nabat, Plouhinec (Finistère).
A number of radiocarbon-dates
Radiocarbon dating
Radiocarbon dating is a radiometric dating method that uses the naturally occurring radioisotope carbon-14 to estimate the age of carbon-bearing materials up to about 58,000 to 62,000 years. Raw, i.e. uncalibrated, radiocarbon ages are usually reported in radiocarbon years "Before Present" ,...
are known from the barrows:
| name of site | dept. | Lab number | date | standard deviation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plouvorn, Kernonen | Finistère | Gif-805 | 1960 | 120 |
| Melrand, Saint-Fiacre | Morbihan | Gif-863 | 1950 | 135 |
| Goarem Goasven | Finistère | Gif-1313 | 1850 | 130 |
| Saint Evarzec, Kerhuel | Finistère | Gif-482 | 1630 | 200 |
| Kervigny | Finistère | Gif-2481 | 1560 | 100 |
| Ligollenec, Berrien | Finistère | Gif-1866 | 1550 | 120 |
| Kerno en Ploudariel | Finistère | Gif-2421 | 1500 | 100 |
| Plouvorn, Kernonen | Finistère | Gif-1149 | 1480 | 120 |
| Cleger, Kervelerin | Finistère | Gsy-86 | 1345 | 150 |
| Guidel, Tuchenn Cruguel | Finistère | Gif-235 | 1320 | 200 |
| Cleder, Le Helen | Finistère | Gif-748 | 1300 | 115 |
| Plouzévédé, Ar Réunic | Finistère | Gif-1113 | 1250 | 120 |
| Plouvorn, Kernonen | Finistère | Gif-806 | 1250 | 120 |
| Plouzévédé, Ar Réunic | Finistère | Gif-1115 | 1210 | 120 |
| Plouvorn, Kernonen | Finistère | Gif-807 | 1200 | 120 |
| Goarem Goasven | Finistère | Gif-1314 | 1050 | 130 |
| Courcoury | Charente Maritime | Gif-2347 | 850 | 70 |
| Plouhinec, Lescongar | Finistère | Gif-2347 | 850 | 70 |
| Crée de Carat | Finistère | GrN-1973 | 700 | 60 |
The later part of the early Bronze Age saw the beginning of the exploitation of the Armorican tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
deposits. Numerous hoards contain tools and weapons, but metalwork is rarely found in burials or settlements, which makes the synchronisation of hoards and settlements difficult. The Tréboul-group of hoards is thought to be contemporaneous with the second series barrows. Decorated spear-heads, flanged axes, palstaves and long daggers are typical. The hoard from Bignan (Morbihan) contained only bronze jewellery.
Coastal saltern
Saltern
Saltern is a word with a number of differing meanings. In English archaeology, a saltern is an area used for salt making, especially in the East Anglian fenlands....
s are known from the late Bronze Age onwards as well, for example at Curnic, Guissény.
Pollen analysis shows that widespread clearance of the beech forests took place in the early Bronze Age. Cereal pollen have been found at Porsguen, Plouescat, for example. Domestic animals included sheep, goats and cattle, but hunting may have still provided a lot of meat. La Roche, Videlles, has still 60% wild animals among the animal bones, but it is not clear if this is typical. Carbonised remains of naked wheat and barley have been found at Plounéour-Trez, hazelnuts and acorns were eaten as well. Flint still formed an important part of the tool inventory.
The later Bronze Age sees only a slight Urnfield influence. Hoards are numerous. The Saint-Brieuc-des-Iffs phase marks the beginnings of the Atlantic bronze industries. It is succeeded by the carp's-tongue complex, found in Britain and Portugal as well.
The square-socketed armorican axes turn up in hoard
Hoard
In archaeology, a hoard is a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards may be uncovered by...
s in great numbers. At Maure-de-Bretagne, over 4000 axes have been found, ca. 800 at Tréhou and Loudéac.
The axes are mainly unused and may have been a form of ingot of primitive currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
. They contain a high amount of lead or consist of pure lead and are distributed from the Iberian Peninsula to eastern Germany, Ireland and Southern Britain, with some pieces from Scotland, Poland and Switzerland. Different regional types are known: Brandivy in Morbihan, Dahouet and Plurien on the North coast, Tréhou in Finistère. The miniature types of Maure-de-Bretagne, Ille-et-Villaine and Couville are typical of Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany
Upper Brittany is a term used to describe the eastern part of Brittany which is predominantly of a Romance culture and is associated with the Gallo language. The name is in counterpoint to Lower Brittany, the western part of the ancient province and present-day region, where the Breton language...
.
Copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
was imported from Spain as plano-convex ingot
Ingot
An ingot is a material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. Non-metallic and semiconductor materials prepared in bulk form may also be referred to as ingots, particularly when cast by mold based methods.-Uses:...
s, as found in the hoard
Hoard
In archaeology, a hoard is a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground. This would usually be with the intention of later recovery by the hoarder; hoarders sometimes died before retrieving the hoard, and these surviving hoards may be uncovered by...
of Penfoul, Landelau.
Settlements have rarely been excavated, Ploubazlanec
Ploubazlanec
Ploubazlanec is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.Historically its economy relied on fishing. Fishermen in the 19th century and early 20th century went to Iceland aboard sailing ships called goelettes....
at the mouth of the Trieux
Trieux
Trieux is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France....
is an example of a fortified village.
The Museum of PreHistory in Carnac has large quantities of Late Bronze Age bronze and copper artifacts from the Atlantic Bronze Age
Atlantic Bronze Age
The Atlantic Bronze Age is a cultural complex of the Bronze Age period of approximately 1300–700 BC that includes different cultures in Portugal, Andalusia, Galicia, Armorica and the British Isles.-Trade:...
culture.
This culture was a maritime trading-networked culture that included Brittany and most of the rest of France, the other Celtic nations
Celtic nations
The Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...
, England, Spain and Portugal. According to John T. Koch
John T. Koch
Professor John T. Koch is an American academic, historian and linguist who specializes in Celtic studies, especially prehistory and the early Middle Ages....
, Barry Cunliffe
Barry Cunliffe
Sir Barrington Windsor Cunliffe, CBE, known professionally as Barry Cunliffe is a former Professor of European Archaeology at the University of Oxford, a position held from 1972 to 2007...
, Karl, Wodtko and other highly respected scholars, Celtic languages
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
developed in the intense interactions of this culture with the Tartessian language
Tartessian language
The Tartessian language is the extinct Paleohispanic language of inscriptions in the Southwestern script found in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula: mainly in the south of Portugal , but also in Spain . There are 95 of these inscriptions with the longest having 82 readable signs...
the first written Celtic language so far discovered from this era.
Iron Age
A variety of tribes are mentioned in Roman sources, like the VenetiVeneti (Gaul)
The Veneti were a seafaring Celtic people who lived in the Brittany peninsula , which in Roman times formed part of an area called Armorica...
, Armoricani
Armoricani
The Armoricani were a tribe living in the area now called Brittany and all along the coast up to Dieppe in Normandy. They inhabited the area in the Iron Age, though there is plenty of evidence of earlier settlement in that part of Gaul. Strabo and Poseidonius describe the Armoricani as belonging...
, Osismii
Osismii
The Osismii were a Gaulish tribe on the western Armorican peninsula. They were first described as the Ostimioi by the Greek geographer and traveller Pytheas in the fourth century BC. He situated them at the end of the peninsula of Kabaïon, which is not identifiable today. Their name means "the...
, Namnetes
Namnetes
The Namnetes were a tribe of ancient Gaul, living in the area of the modern city of Nantes near the river Liger .They were neighbours to the Veneti people , the Redones , the Andecavi and the Pictones ....
and Coriosolites. Strabo
Strabo
Strabo, also written Strabon was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher.-Life:Strabo was born to an affluent family from Amaseia in Pontus , a city which he said was situated the approximate equivalent of 75 km from the Black Sea...
and Poseidonius describe the Armoricani as belonging to the Belgae
Belgae
The Belgae were a group of tribes living in northern Gaul, on the west bank of the Rhine, in the 3rd century BC, and later also in Britain, and possibly even Ireland...
.
Armorican gold coins have been widely exported and are even found in the Rhineland.
Salterns are widespread in Northern Armorica, for example at Trégor, Ebihens and Enez Vihan near Pleumeur-Bodou (Côtes-d'Armor) and the island of Yoc'h near Landuvez (Finistère) of late La Tène
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
date.
An estimated 40–55 kg of salt per oven were produced at Ebihens. Each oven was about 2 m long. The site dates to the end of the early La Tène
La Tène culture
The La Tène culture was a European Iron Age culture named after the archaeological site of La Tène on the north side of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland, where a rich cache of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857....
or the middle La Tène period. Numerous briquetage
Briquetage
Briquetage is the name for a coarse ceramic material used to make evaporation vessels and supporting pillars used in extracting salt from seawater. Thick-walled saltpans were filled with saltwater and heated from below until the water had boiled away and salt was left behind...
-remains have been found. At Tregor, boudins de Calage (hand-bricks) were the typical form of briquetage, between 2,5 and 15 cm long and with a diameter between 4–7 cm.
At the salterns at Landrellec and Enez Vihan at Pleumeur-Bodou the remains of rectangular ovens have been excavated that are 2,5–3 m long and ca. 1 m wide and constructed of stones and clay.
On the Gulf of Morbihan
Gulf of Morbihan
The Gulf of Morbihan is a natural harbour on the coast of the Département of Morbihan in the south of Brittany, France. This English name is taken from the French version: le golfe du Morbihan...
about 50 salterns have been found so far. mainly dating to the final La Téne period.
- For subsequent periods of Brittany's past, see ArmoricaArmoricaArmorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
and history of BrittanyHistory of BrittanyThe history of Brittany may refer to the entire history of the Armorican peninsula or only to the creation and development of a specifically Brythonic culture and state in the Early Middle Ages and the subsequent history of that state....
.