Re: Cymerians?

Torsten

I believe the Gundestrup cauldron was recovered from a bog in the
Himmerland, which you're correct Himmer is the Danish name for
the Cimbri-Cimmeri. It's been dated to the 4th or 3rd centuries
BC,which would be a little early for the Danes, yet when they did
show its likely the remaining Cimbri, such as they were, did drop a
few. The Gundestrup cauldron appears similar to the one that Strabo
says the Cimbri presented to Augustus. This one however appears to
have been deposited as a votive offering. Similar bog offerings from
this same period include the Hjortspring boat wherein was found more
than 50 shields, 169 spearheads, shafts of spears, 11 swords, rust-
prints of numerous suits of chain mail, two thin strap-tags, a
clothing-pin, a button, a peace of bronze sheet that may have been
part of a kettle, and a large number of wooden tools. A large number
of Cimbric settlements have been identified, however only three have
been excavated. These indicate they lived in semi-subterranean
longhouses aligned within fortified settlements often isolated on
small islands in boggy settings and accessed only by narrow causeways.

Stylistically, the Gundestrup cauldron belongs to the Latenne
tradition and was manufactured around the 4th century BC. It's
very similar in design and style to the slightly later Belgic Rynkeby
Cauldron and the basic style of the Bavai Vace. The compositional
styles used on these artifacts are all similar to the Thracian
Latenne style as seen in the Agighiol helmet for example. Some
researchers have argued that the Gundestrup was actually manufactured
in the Middle Danube region, however this is primarily based on an
insistence that Denmark was situated outside the Latenne sphere and
clearly it was not. I believe what is overlooked is the similarity in
the Latennne styles in Denmark, northwest Germany, and Belgium
underlay socioeconomic, cultural, and demographic similarity as
well.

I believe another aspect, that is often depicted on this style of
Latenne art but often over looked, is the introduction of horse
breeds into northwest Europe, that were large and sturdy enough to
carry considerable weight over relatively long distances. Replacing
the smaller breeds used to pull the type of chariots seen in the
Marne district. These larger-stronger steppe types quickly lead to
the development of mass horse formations that appear to have had a
revolutionary affect on the type of warfare practiced in this region.
I think this may have helped facilitate the spread of P-Celt speaking
people and Language as well. I'm sure the last sentence here will
draw a response.

By the way what is the work of wheat in Gaelic, and what does that
have with a British horse???


Must run


Joseph