illarregui e. - cant a brian waepons

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THE ENEMIES OF ROME

Edited by Lszl Kocsis

Proceedings of the 15th International Roman Military

Equipment Conference, Budapest 2005

JOURNAL OF ROMAN

MILITARY EQUIPMENT

STUDIES

JOURNAL OF ROMAN

MILITARY EQUIPMENT

STUDIES

VOLUME 16 2008VOLUME 16 2008


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Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies

JRMES Editor

M.C.Bishop, 34 Cobden Street, Darlington DL1 4JD, UK email: [email protected]: mcbishop.co.uk

Volume 16 Academic EditorDr. Lszl Kocsis, Hungarian National Museum, 1088 Budapest, Mzeum krt. 14.16

Editorial BoardMr P. Connolly, 22 Spring Street, Spalding, PE11 2XW, England

Dr J.C.N. Coulston, FSA School of Classics The University of St Andrews, St AndrewsFife KY16 9AL

Dr C. van Driel-Murray, IPP, Nieuwe Prinsengracht 130, 1018 VZ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Notes for contributors and page templates forJRMES are available from the editor and theJRMESWeb page. Shorter notes, bibliographical information, and general news about the Roman Military

Equipment Conference are published twice a year (summer and winter) inArma, Newsletter of theRoman Military Equipment Conference. This is available from M.C. Bishop at the above address

for annual subscription of 5.00.

Language Editors

English: Alexandra Croom and Bill GriffithsGerman: Dr. Eckhard Deschler-Erb

2008 The Individual Authors

ISBNISSN

This journal is available direct from:.....

(Phone: Fax: )

Printed in


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Contents

Contents ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5

List of contributors ........................................................................................................................................................ 7Editorial......................................................................................................................................................................... 9Major Themes I. ........................................................................................................................................................ 15Jon Coulston: The Enemies of Rome .......................................................................................................................... 17Katarzina Czarnecka - Bartosz Kontny :Simply ornament or something more?

Marks of undetermined function found on barbarian lance- and spearheads ........................................................ 31Igor Gavritukhin :Late Roman Military Style in the East of the Forest and Forest-Steppe Zone of Europe ............. 57Thomas Grane :South Scandinavianfoederati and auxiliarii?................................................................................... 69Emilio Illarregui :Cantabrian weapons ....................................................................................................................... 81Eszter Istvnovits Valria Kulcsr: Sarmatian swords with ring-shaped pommels in the Carpathian Basin .......... 95Bartosz Kontny: The war as seen by an archaeologist. Reconstruction of barbarian weapons and

fighting techniques in the Roman Period based on the analysis of graves containing weapons. The case of thePrzeworsk Culture ............................................................................................................................................... 107

Alexander Nefedkin: Weaponry of the Goths of the mid-3rd to the 7th century AD ................................................. 147Yurij Zaytsev Valentina Mordvintseva: The elite military necropolis in Scythian Neapolis (I-II century AD). ... 157Major Themes II ..................................................................................................................................................... 169Iona Cataniciu: Sagittarii on the South-East Frontier ofDacia ................................................................................ 171Eckhard Deshler-Erb: Militaria der Sptlatnezeit und der frhen Kaiserzeit aus Basel ......................................... 181Peter Dyczek: Segmental Armour from the Fortress of the First Italic Legion in Novae ........................................ 191Nicolae Gudea: Sagittarii Porolissenses und ihre Kampfwaffen. I. ......................................................................... 201Norbert Hanel Frank Willer: Untersuchungen zur Helmmaske von Kalkriese ..................................................... 213

Achim Rost: Conditions for the preservation of Roman military equipment on battlefields the example of Kalkriese .................................................................................................................................... 219

Susanne Wilbers-Rost: Special features with Roman military equipment in Kalkriese ........................................... 225Michael J. Klein: Roman Decorated Daggers and Figural Sword Fittings from Mainz-Mogontiacum

(Germania superior)............................................................................................................................................ 237Lszl Kocsis: New data on the question of morphology and dating of theIntercisa IIItype Helmets .................. 249Pter Kovcs: Militaria from Anamatia .................................................................................................................... 273Zsolt Mrv: Beschlge eines Flavierzeitlichen Schurzcingulums aus Balca (Komitat Veszprm, Ungarn) ........... 279Ivan Radman-Livaja: Roman belt-fittings fromBurgenae ....................................................................................... 295Mirjana Sanader - Tomislav eparovi Domagoj Tonini: Das Projekt Tilurium ............................................... 309Hans-Joachim Schalles: A well-preserved 1st-Century torsion-weapon found at Xanten......................................... 317Krisztina Szirmai: Early Depictions of Military Equipment inAquincum ............................................................... 321The Historical Context ........................................................................................................................................... 333Dra Gspr: Oath and Punishment with the Roman Army (Dasius-acta) .............................................................. 335Alexei Kozlenko: Barbarian Throwing Clubs and the origins of Roman Plumbatae .............................................. 341The Experimental Context ..................................................................................................................................... 345Florian Himmler: Testing the Ramshaw Boot Experimental Calceology on the March .................................... 347Marquita Volken: Making the Ramshaw Boot, an exercise in experimental archaeology ....................................... 359Index ......................................................................................................................................................................... 367


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List of contributors

Dr. Bogdan Cataniciu Ioana Institutul de Arheologie si Istoria Artei 3400 Cluj-Napoca, Str. C. Daicoviciu 2., ROMANIADr. J.C.N. Coulston, FSA School of Classics The University of St Andrews,

St Andrews Fife KY16 9ALMs. Alexandra Croom South Shields

Baring Street, Tyne Ano WearNE33 288 UNITED KINGDOM

Dr. Katarzyna Czarnecka Panstwowe Muzeum Archeologiczne 00-950 Warszawa, Ul. Dluga 52, POLANDDr. Eckhard Deschler-Erb Universitt Zrich,

Historisches Seminar, Abt. r- und Frhgeschichte CH-8006 Zrich, Karl Schmid Str. 4, SWITZERLANDProf. Piotr Dyczek Uniwersitet Warszawskiego, Instytut Archeologii 00927 Warszava, ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie 32, POLANDDr. Dra Gspr Dunaharaszti, Szt. Istvn t 66. H-2330Mr. Igor Gavritukhin Institute of Archaeology of Russian Academy

Moscow 117036, Ul. Dm.Uljanova 19, RUSSIAMr. Thomas Grane SAXO-Institute, Section for Archeology and Ethnology

University of Copenhagen DK-146 Copenhagen K, Vandkunsten 5, DENMARKMr. Bill Griffiths Tyne and Wear Museums, Discovery Museum,

Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 4JA, UNITED KINGDOMProf. Nicolae Gudea Universitatea Babes-Bolyai, Facultatea de Teologie Greco-Catolica 3400 Cluj-Napoca, str. Motilor 26, ROMANIAMr. Norbert Hanel Universitt zu Kln D-50923 Kln, Albertus-Magnus-Platz , GERMANYMr. Florian Himmler Lehrstuhl f. Alte Geschichte

93053 Regensburg, Universittsstrasse 31, GERMANYProf. Emilio Illaregui Universidad SEK de Segovia 40003 Segovia, C/cardenal Zniga 12. E, SPAINDr. Eszter Istvnovits Jsa Andrs Mzeum 4400 Nyregyhza, Benczr tr 21, HUNGARYDr. Michael J. Klein Landesmuseum Mainz D-55116 Mainz, Grosse Bleiche 49-51, GERMANYDr. Lszl Kocsis Magyar Nemzeti Mzeum 1088 Budapest, Mzeum krt. 14-16. HUNGARYDr. Bartosz Kontny Institute of Archeology, Warsaw University 02-089 Warszawa, Ul. Zwirki i Wigury 97/99, POLSKADr. Pter Kovcs Pzmny Pter Katolikus Egyetem kortrtneti Tanszk,

2081 Piliscsaba, Egyetem u. 1., HUNGARYMr. Alexei Kozlenko Belarussian State University

Minsk 220 108, Korzenevskogo Str. 1 / 2, 203, BELARUS


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Dr. Valria Kulcsr Petfi Mzeum 2170 Aszd, Szontgh lpcs 2., HUNGARYDr. Valentina Mordvintseva Institute of Archaeology, Crimean Branch Simferopol 95004, Yaltinskaya 2., UKRAINE

Mr. Zsolt Mrv Magyar Nemzeti Mzeum 1088 Budapest, Mzeum krt. 14-16. HUNGARYDr. Alexander K. Nefedkin St.Petersburg State University . 12-1-908 - 193168 Dr. Ivan Radman-Livaja Archaeological Museum 10000 Zagreb, Zrinjevac 19, CROATIADr. Achim Rost Belm, Rembrandtstr. 32., 49191, GERMANYProf. Mirjana Sanader University Zagreb, Department of Archaeology 10000 Zagreb, Ivana Lucica 3, CROATIADr.Tomislav eparovi University Zagreb, Department of Archaeology 10000 Zagreb, Ivana Lucica 3, CROATIADr. Joachim Schalles Hans- Archologischer Park Regionalmuseum Xanten D-46509 Xanten, Trajanstrasse 4, GERMANYDr. Krisztina Szirmai Aquincum Mzeum 1031 Budapest, Zhony u. 4., HUNGARYMr. Domagoj Tonini University Zagreb, Department of Archaeology 10000 Zagreb, Ivana Lucica 3, CROATIAMs. Marquita Volken Rue du Rtillon 10

CH-1003 LausanneDr. Susanne Wilbers-Rost Museum und Park Kalkriese 49565 Bramsche, Venner str. 69., GERMANY

Mr. Frank Willer Rheinisches LandesMuseum Bonn Bonn, RLMB, Bachstr. 5-9 in 53115, GERMANYDr. Yuriy Zaytsev Crimean Branch of Institute of Archaeology Ukrainian National Academy

of Science Yaltinskaya 2,Simferopol 95004, Crimea, UKRAINE


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The objective of this paper is to show archaeologicalevidence of the weapons used by the Cantabrians in theirwars against Rome.

The view of the Cantabrians as fierce and unrulywas greatly exaggerated by Roman historians and by theRomantic ideas repeated by Cantabrian nationalism. Weknow of the presence of Cantabrians as mercenary soldiersin the Punic wars, their weaponry was greatly influenced bythose of Rome and other cultures.

Archaeological information sheds very little light onthe Cantabrians. We dont know the kind of languagethey spoke; the only sure thing is that they didnt havea writing system before the Roman conquest. The onlystrictly Cantabrian Oppidum published is Celada Marlantes1and the pre Cantabrian one Monte Bernorio2. Both are quitenear the springs offlumen Iber- River Ebro. Cato, Strabo,Pliny the Elder and Isidore of Seville stated that the EbroRiver is born in Cantabria, and perhaps the name Cantiber

refers to the people who lived in the mountains of the Iber3.(Fig. 1).

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Livy and Appian of Alexandria said Lucullus in his waragainst the Celtiberian tribes also celebrated a victory overthe kantabroi. It doesnt seem very probable, but it is a men-

tion of them fighting against Romans. This type of referencecontinued, together with presumed victories and also refer-ences about their rudeness and fierce character (Fig. 10)

In the 2nd century BC, Romans who were in contactwith these peoples sometimes fought against them, andsometimes used them as mercenaries within their troops.As a consequence, a process of assimilation began on bothsides. Romans adopted the sagum, bracae, and some types ofweapons form the peoples of Hispania,4 but the barbarianswere much more influenced by the Romans.

People such as the Cantabrians, Asturs, and Luisitans,among others were known as anarchic, lovers of freedomand of weapons, very active and extremely aggressive5.They preferred war to peace and fought with each otherwhen there was no common enemy6.

Classical writers maintained that to these peoples it was bet-ter to die than to surrender7 (Fig. 19-20).

According to classical sources, the Cantabrian wars

lasted ten years, from 29 BC to 19 BC. Two peoples werethe chief actors, Cantabrians and Asturs. These pre-Romanethnic groups from Northern Spain are relatively wellknown thanks to the archaeological studies of their dwell-ings and also of their uses and costumes. Very little is knownof them through written sources before these wars. Cato(2nd century BC) mentions Cantabrian people and territorywhen he states that the Ebro River is born in Cantabrianland. Later on, Julius Caesar points to the relationshipCantabrians maintained with Aquitanians, and the participa-tion of Cantabrians as mercenaries in the Civil War betweenCaesar and Pompey is also known. Asturs, on the otherhand, are not mentioned until 29 BC, when the war began.

Of all the sources contemporary to these wars the storiestold by Livy, the official historian, stand out; they refer toAugustus deeds in Cantabria. Unfortunately, of his UrbeConditia we have only the first 45 volumes and the waragainst the Cantabrians were told from book 135 onwards8.

The data supplied by Livy, taken from the EmperorAugustus Autobiography, were used by two other historianswho wrote about these wars, Lucius Florus and Orosius. We

will talk about them later on.Another important source, contemporary to the wars, is

Cantabrian weapons

Emilio Illarregui

JRMES162008 81-93

Fig. 1: Preroman tribes (After Untermann)


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Emilio Illarregui82

Fig. 2: Silver coin from Turiaso and Ikalesken show two Celtiberian Horsemen

Fig. 3:Ases from Bilbilis and Segovia. Celtiberian Horsemann

Fig. 4: Pompey Magnus Hispania with caetra and two Spears

Fig. 5: Galba's Denarius Fig. 6: Caetra from nw Mints


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Journal of Roman Military Equipment Studies 162008 83

Fig. 7: QuinariusEmerita Augusta

Fig. 8:DenariusEmerita Augusta

Fig. 9:XIXth century illustration from the Temple of Mars Emerita Augusta


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Strabos Geographica. In Book 3, which is dedicated toHispania, he describes the peoples from the North of theIberian Peninsula; he gives us interesting information aboutthe Cantabrians and their customs and also about their fight-

ing against Rome.Some panegyrists and poets, especially Horace, describe

Augustus and Agrippa as tamers of the fierce peoplefrom the north. Theirs is obvious propaganda in favor ofthe Emperor and his family. Similarly, Strabo would praiseAugustus qualities in his fight against the rude and savagenorthern people, who now could live in peace and enjoythe progress brought by Rome.

During the High Empire, authors such as Suetonius orTacitus, in some pages of their histories of Rome, remem-ber events related to deeds performed by Romans againstCantabrians and Asturs. Florus story of the Cantabrian Wars9inEpitomae historiae romanae10 is especially interesting.

Sources dated from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD,although more distant in time, also refer to the CantabrianWars. In the 3rd century, we have the valuable chronologi-cal account of events written by the Greco-Roman historianCassius Dio11, who listed the events from the beginning ofthe war and named the main Roman soldiers who took partin it. The main handicap this source has is the lack of geo-graphical or topographical information. Josephus, Plutarch,

Appian of Alexandria, Lucius Ampelius and Jerome alsoallude to these events12; we can also find references in thepoetic works of Horace, Crinagoras of Mitelene, Lucanus,Silius Italicus, and Juvenal13.

Through all of the late Roman period the memory ofthe Cantabrian Wars lasted as can be seen in the works ofsome writers. The Hispanic priest Orosius14, and Florus aswell, shows the deeds of Augustus in Northern Spain, using thedata provided by Livy. Orosius presents an apologetic visionof Augustus and his mission of peace the Pax Romana dueto the Fact that during his reign Christ was born.

Besides the writings of the authors already mentioned, thereare other sources, of an epigraphic nature, that are helpful whenstudying the development of these wars. Such is the case of theso-called Fasti Triumphales or lists of victorious consuls andgenerals. Thanks to the triumphs exHispania of the differentproconsuls, from 36 to 26 BC, we are able to know the irregularmilitary situation of Hispania at the beginning of the CantabrianWars. Some of the contemporary historians state that Rome wasalready fighting against the tribes of the North and their neigh-bors, that is against the Vacceos, Cantabrians and Asturs before

the official beginning of the war.Most of the Southern Cantabrian Oppida show remains

that attest to the military conflict between Cantabrians andRomans. The demolished walls in Monasterio, Cild, orCastro de Santa Marina, the great levels of fire at Castro deFontibre, Argeso, Castro de San Julin, or the Roman epi-

graphs that speak about the war: the Ara from Villabellaco,theprata legionis, etc. are clear examples of this.

The chronology of conflict that leads to the final con-quest of the North of the Iberian Peninsula by the Romansis as follows:

29 BC Statilius Taurus wins over Vaccei, Kantabroi andAsturs

28 BC Calvitius Sabinus celebrates a triumph ex Hispaniathanks to his skirmishes against Asturs and kantabroi

27 BC Sextus Apuleius celebrates his victory over thepeople of Northern Spain

26 BC Augustus becomes the head of the Roman army andsets his camp apud segisama

25 BC Roman victory over a coalition of Asturs inLancia

24 BC Victory of Lucius Aemilius over Kantabroi22 BC Cantabrian revolts. They are beaten by Caius

Furnius19 BC Cantabrian uprising. The Legio I Augusta loses

its Eagles. Agrippa arrives heading the Legio IIIIMacedonica and wins over the Kantabroi.

Unfortunately, we know almost nothing about the initialperiod of the conquest. Our knowledge is based on classicalsources (Dio Cassius, Livy, Anneus Florus, Paulus Orosius,Strabo, Pliny the Elder,) and the theories that Schulten,Syme, Magie, Rodrguez Colmenero, Echegaray and Solana,among others, have constructed about this conflict.

As we see it, within Cantabria, there is no evidence ofany real battles. Classical authors talk about the capture ofVellica, Aracillum or the final resistence on Mons Vindius;they also speak of guerrilla tactics used by the Cantabrians.Archaeology has helped little in this case, mostly because ofthe territorys orography.

Polybius talks about the adoption of Hispanic weaponssuch as their sword or thepuglio by the Roman army. Romans,from Hannibals time abandoned their ancestors swords, andused instead those of the Hispanic, but, if they were able toimitate the form, they could not reach the same quality of ironor achieve the perfection of its manufacture15.

There was no army specializing in a continuous war, allthey did was to perform raids from spring to fall, using thespear as the main weapon. The number of warriors was very

small and the tactics they used, quite simple16.The weaponry used by the Hispanic peoples was simple

Emilio Illarregui84


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and light, adapted to their way of fighting; they did notconfront the enemy directly with large armies which theydid not have but instead they used the guerrilla warfaresystem, which allowed them great mobility, and they ran to

the fight en masse17

.The Cantabrians, wishing, more than the other peoples,

to put their swords for hiring and try their luck as mercenar-ies in the art of fighting, and the Vascones, who scorned theprotection of the helmets18.

Cantabrians, who, among all these peoples clung moststubbornly to their habits of pillage, have been subdued byCaesar Augustus; and now, instead of devastating the landsof Romes allies, they put their weapons to the service ofthe Romans19.

Cato, full of martial spirit, and forgetting his youthful-ness, when he was fighting, the swift Basques and Cantabriansstrongly pushed him with a rainfall of spears20.

They were very used to the mountains and quite good atrunning and jumping among rocks and crags, they were helpedby their light weapons and the speed of their bodies21.

Cantabrians followed these fighting tactics, and theyattacked running, with their hair tied with a band22, shoutingand singing war songs which the Roman ear interpreted as abarbarian howling23.

Augustus fought against the Asturs and the Cantabrians;

but they did not approach him, always hiding behindthe peaks of their mountains, neither they got within hisreach due to their inferior number, and also because theyused throwing weapons, causing him many inconveniencestoo if at any time they started to march. They occupiedfavorable places and ambushed in hollows and forests24.

The most important defensive equipment were the hel-met, the shield and the cuirass. Strabo tells us that their hairwas long as womens and that during the combat they tiedit on the back with a band25. They covered their hair with aleather helmet as Silius Italicus describes26. In the coins ofP. Carisius, we can also see metal helmets with somethinglike a crescent on its top.It seems that Cantabrians used two types of shield:

Caetrae (concave, round and small, made of leather,with a central section made of wood, where the metallicumbo was placed, it was reinforced by some metal plaquesthat also served as ornamental pieces), it is small, of twofeet of diameter, and concave in its anterior part, they carryit hanging in front tied with belts, and it does not have, soit seems, handles27. Silius Italicus calls the young warriors

fighting for Hannibal iuventus caetrata28 (Fig. 17).Scutum (large shield, it can be oblong or rectangular, and

it covered two-thirds of the body29. Caesar and Livy talk ofHispanic scutata30. We can see their type of shield in thestele from Zurita31.

In relation to the defensive elements, they mostly used

flax coats, but some had coats of mail32

.The equipment Cantabrian and Astur warriors used

depended on their financial situation, and also on the bootythey had previously collected; it included weapons takenfrom the enemy. We know from Roman sources that mostCantabrians used light arms, preferring spears and javelins,swords and daggers.

Darts of diverse types were typical elements, they couldtake the form of javelin, soliferrum, falarica, spear. SiliusItalicus talks of the Cantabrians as spicula densus (X,5).They also used spears as those found in Monte Bernorio33.

They also used Celtiberian swords called falcatas.Cantabrians seem to have used, too, double axes34.

In Monte Bernorio swords and daggers have been found,they have disks covered with wood or bone at the end of thesheath. In Carisius coins there is another type of small swordwith disks on the handle which seem to date around the endof the hallstatic tradition35. We can find them in CeladaMarlantes36. Another example comes from the Iuliobrigaarchaeological site37.

The dagger that follows the model of the swords from

Monte Bernorio would be a small puglio, very commonamong Roman legionaries. Lucan says: Cantaber exiguis etlongis teutonus armis38. In Meridas theater there is a reliefthat could represent a Cantabrian or an Astur carrying caetraandpuglio39.

Another weapon documented in the coins of PubliusCarisius is the double axe or bipennis40; this weapon is typi-cal of the Cantabrians and it was not used by other peoplesof the Iberian Peninsula.

As of now, we have no evidence of the use of slings or bows,but they were probably known and used due to the fact thatthey were shepherds and they had close ties with Romans andCarthaginians since they began to serve as mercenaries.

Roman sources state that they also had heavy infantry,equipped with the above-mentioned weapons and also withleather or flax cuirasses, mail coats bronze helmets withone or more crests, derived from the Montefortino type.Helmets were usually made of leather or woven sinews; theyprotected the neck with their own braids, and some nativeswore helmets with triple crest41.

The infantry must have been similar to that of their neigh-

bors: Celtiberian tribes, Asturians or Lusitanian warriors.From Numantia, the vessel illustrated in Fig. 18, from the end



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Emilio Illarregui86

of 2nd century BC shows men fighting with caetra; the man atthe right has a small sword; the one at the left carries spears,and the one in the middle, soliferra. They also used Romanprotective equipment like the Montefortino helmet from

Gorrita (Valladolid) with a Latin inscription stating its owner-N. PAQUI- and another, of a later period, with the nameof the new user in Celtiberian characters, it is of 1st centuryBC42; the helmet from Quintana Redonda (Soria) found with1300-2500 silver coins- the main part is from Bolskan, andthe Roman coins hidden during the Sertorian Wars43.

Both types of infantry sometimes used shin pads madeof leather metal, or woven44. They would probably haveused trousers, like the Gauls or the Celtiberians, and, mostsurely, flax or wool tunics which ended above their kneesand leather boots that covered their ankles.

Cantabrian cavalry was important; from it, the Romanstook two manoeuvres: the circulus cantabricus or CantabrianCircle, which consisted of an advance towards the enemyriding on horseback and when the cavalrymen were about toreach them, they turned away, forming a half-circle, throw-ing a great quantity of darts (at least fifteen before turning tothe right), and protecting themselves with their shields. Thismaneuver was repeated as many times as it was considerednecessary45. The circling route allowed the reloading anddemoralized and wore out their enemy, who could not reach

them. Another manoeuvre was called impetus and it consist-ed of a massive frontal charge to break up the enemy lines46.

The Cantabricus impetus was performed by the cavalry.We do not know the amount of cavalry the Cantabrians

used, but it most have been similar to that of the Celtiberians.Not only the Iberians rode on horseback in couples; of them,

one could fight as a pawn47.Another source of knowledge on the weapons used by

the northern Spanish enemies of Rome is the numismaticevidence. From the 2nd century BC until the end of the 1stcentury BC, the towns of the Ebro River and the central pla-teau minted denarii (Fig. 2) and later, bronze coins with theimages of horse riders with spears and round shields. Thehighest point in the minting of these coins was the Sertorianwars. After them it was usual to use the same iconographicaltypes with Latin inscriptions as, for example, in the coinsfrom Bilbilis or Segovia. (Fig. 3)

Coins of the P. Carisius

Numismatic pieces with the inscription P.CARISIUSLEG AUG PROPR, present on their reverse weapons typicalof the people of Northern Spain: shield, spear, sword, anddagger. In different mintings we find diverse representa-tions, the most usual show the castra, spears and falcatas;in other parts, we can see a helmet, castra and two spears,or else a helmet with a half-moon ornament, a dagger and adouble axe48.

We know of coin series made in the colony of EmeritaAugusta, founded by the legionaries from the Cantabrian

Fig. 10:XIXth century illustrations of Cantabrian Weapons


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wars; they were minted between 27 and 23 BC, and the high-est point occurred during the campaigns of 26-25 BC, whichcoincided with the presence of Augustus in the Cantabrianwars49 (Fig. 7-8). The coins of the caetra present another prob-lem; they are found in the military sectors of Northern Spainand in the cities under their control. Lugo50 and Herrera delPisuerga51 are two well documented points in which these coinswere present. In the Galician sector, Lugo was the issuing point,and there had to be some mint in the eastern sector that wouldsupply Herrera and the military camps. These mintings lasteduntil Tiberian times52 (Fig, 6). We know of mintings prior to the

victories in Hispania, such as Pompeys where Hispania is rep-resented with the caetra and two spears (Fig. 4), or latter mint-

ings, such as those by Galba, with Hispania armed with caetraand spears (Fig. 5). These coins had a propagandistic role, andwere used for the payment of Roman legionaries and fortunesoldiers. The older were minted in silver in Emerita Augusta, at

a second time the caetra type was minted in Lucus August andthe 3rd and 4th types were bronze coins (ases and dupondius)made in a mobile mint point.

EPIGRAPHY

Epigraphic sources show clear influences from Romanburial gravestones; Cantabrian types usually show anaepi-graphic and commemorative types like those of Zurita andToranzo (Fig. 14-15).Cantabrian steles from Zurita and Toranzo

Cantabrian steles are monolithic stone disks of about twometers in diameter; they were usually carved in monumentsabout the time of the Romanization of Cantabria. Usualornaments consisted of swastikas, Pentasqueles, crosses,helices, X-shaped crosses, warriors or pre-Roman funeraryrepresentations. The rest of the Cantabrian steles are kept inthe Museo Regional de Prehistoria.

The two steles from Lombera and Zurita (Fig. 14) showiconographic ornamentation: On one of the sides there isa vulture flying towards a fallen warrior. It seems that theCantabrians cremated their dead, with the exception of

those who fell in battle, because they thought that if theywere left lying there, the vultures would open their entrailsand carry their souls to heaven. Fragments of other steleshave been found, as the third from Lombera, but probablythe best known and the best preserved stele is the Estela deSan Vicente de Toranzo (Fig. 15). On one side there wouldhave been a warrior on horseback; the bit is similar to theone from Celada de Marlantes53, it shows a horseman hold-ing javelins quite similar to those of the Clunia type, withCeltiberian and Latin inscriptions (Fig. 16, 21).

Roman authors said that Cantabrian used to march oneriding the horse and the other holding its tail as can be seenin the burial stone from Borobia (Fig. 22).

The possible trophy of the Cantabrian wars in Augustusaltar in Florence shows a caetra and a hexagonal shield54.

There is a frieze from Porta Flaminia with northwesternHispanic ornaments and the head of a barbarian warrior withits hair attached to the top of the head55. Blzquez believesthat they could be Lusitanians that fought as mercenaries inthe Cantabrian wars56.

The temple of Mars in Emerita Augusta today serves

as the baroque entrance to the Church of Saint Eulala deMrida. There, there is a dedicatory inscription and its

Fig. 11:Axes, Knife and Falcata from Celada deMarlantes (After GARCA GUINEA 1985)

Fig. 12: Spears from Monte Bernorio


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Emilio Illarregui88

friezes show scenes from the Cantabrian wars57 (Fig. 9).The Arch of Glanum was built at the end of the Cantabrian

wars (19 BC) to commemorate the submission of the Gaulsby Augustus and Agrippa58. In the northern wall we can

see falcatas, spears and a probable leather biretta; this issimilar to the mounted display of weapons from the peopleof Northern Hispania, or people dressed with the sagum59,motifs that also appear in the northeastern relief, where twogroups of people accompany a trunk with spoils from thewar60.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL FINDINGS

The only two excavated Cantabrian castra that haveyielded weapons are Monte Bernorio (Fig. 12-13) andCelada Marlantes (Fig. 11). The Northern Plateau receivedcultural influences from Central European peoples; thesewere added to the peninsular culture coming from the Southand the South-East. Important social changes in the SecondIron Age are the use of the potters wheel, which openedthe way to specialization and the production in series ofceramics to be exported, the generalization of the use of ironwhich brought mastery over metallurgical techniques, andthe improvement in the fortification of towns, which nowexhibit strong walls61. Iberian weapons are not the norm inthe Upper Duero, only somefalcatas or some shield handles

have been found. Relations with the lands from the MiddleDuero or Upper Ebro were more important, as can be seen

by the presence in the Celtiberian zone of certain objectssuch as daggers or some shield umbones from the type ofMonte Bernorio type metallic sheaths, or fasteners of thetype of Miraveche and Bureba. Around the middle of the

6th century BC, swords of the La Tne type of appear, thesebecame more widespread in the following century. There aresome pieces from the North of the Pyrenees, such as sheaths.According to the indigenous features of this armament, wecan infer either that they arrived thanks to Celtiberian mer-cenary troops or that they are exotic pieces obtained throughexchanges62.

Celada Malantes contributed some objects but it is asite that years before the excavations, had suffered plunder-ing. This plundering has never stopped, and now it is done,according to my belief, with better technique and more free-dom than before. All objects and material from Celada andwhatever may be inferred from them, should be reqarded asbelonging to an indigenous town from Las Rabas and datedone or two centuries prior to the arrival of the Romans63.

Spear points and regatones, axes, pickaxes, knives inthe form offalcatas, Hallstatic type pins, handles decoratedwith bone pieces and carved goat or deer horns, etc. haveappeared at Celada, and due to their similarities, we canthink that there were cultural exchanges with Celtiberiantribes and people from the Plateau, who in the 3rd cen-

tury BC, developed the so-called CASTREA culture,whose most important sites are Las Cogotas in vila, and

Fig. 13:Monte Bernorio


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Numancia in Soria (Fig. 18). One cannot imagine any simi-larity between their materials and those of Celada, hence onecan think that over an Iron I substratum, to which all thesepeoples and also the Galicians belonged, there are signs ofa strong penetration of Iberian or Mediterranean influencesthat arrived in Celada in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, andthat Rome, with its superior cultural level and its actionsbrought to an end64.

Iuliobriga falcata and statuette of a warrior with equip-

ment typical of people from the North of Hispania, with ahelmet on the head tied with a chinstrap, with geometrical

Fig. 14: Stela from Zurita (Cantabria)

Fig. 15: Stela from Toranzo (Cantabria)

Fig. 16:Burial Stone from Clunia (Burgos)

Fig. 17: Caetra from Griegos (Teruel)


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Emilio Illarregui90

ornamentation and bracae65.

NOTES

1. GARCA GUINEA 1970, 1985, 1997.

2. CABRE 1920; Valera San Aparisi, 1957.

3. GONZLEZ ECHEGARAY 1986.

4. SOLANA 1983, 46.

5. Ptolomeo,Apotel. 64, 13.

6. Just. 44, 2, 1.

7. GARCA GELABERT Ma P. 1989, 69.

8. GONZLEZ ECHEGARAY 1995-1996, 148.

9. Based on Livys accounts.

10. II, 33-46-60.

11. Historia Romana 51-54.



14. Historiarum Adversus paganus, VI, 21.

15. Fragm, 95.

16. ALMAGRO-GORBEA 1995-1996, 28.

17. GARCA-GELABERT 1989, 70.

18. Sil. Ita., Pun. V.195-197.

19. Strabon, III, 3, 8.

20. Sil. Ital., Pun.X.13-16.21. Strabo, III, 22, 18, and 2.

Fig. 18: Warriors fighting from Numancia (After SOPEA, 1995)

Fig. 19:Lusitanian Warrior (After Almagro), Cantabrian Warrior(After, GONZLES ECHEGARAY 1995-1996)


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22. Strabon, III, 3, 7.

23. Silio Italico, 3, 346.

24. Dio Cassio, 53, 25, 5-6.

25. Strabo, III, 3, 7.

26. GONZLEZ ECHEGARAY 1986, 95.



29. Diododoro, 5, 33.

30. GARCA-GELABERT 1989, 74.




34. Silio Italico, 16, 46-65.


36. GARCA GUINEA-RINCN 1970, 22-23.37. GARCA BELLIDO et alii, 1970, 50.

38. Phars, VI, 259.

39. SCHULTEN 1943, 46.

40. Silio Italico, XVI, 56.

41. Strabo, III, 3, 6.42. MARTN VALLS-ESPARZA 1992, 273.

Fig. 20: Celtiberian Warriors from Numancia

Fig. 21: U P Burial stone from Clunia in Celtiberian Language

Fig. 22:Down Burial stone from Borobia (Soria) in LatinLanguage


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Emilio Illarregui92

43. MARTN VALLS- ESPARZA 1992, 273.


45. Arriano, Tact, XL, 1, 12.


47. Strabo, III, 4, 18.48. VILLALONGA 1970, 590.

49. GIARD 1976, 45.

50. RODRGUEZ COLMENERO-CARREO 1992, 394.

51. PREZ-ILLARREGUI-MORILLO 1995, 203.

52. PREZ-ILLARREGUI-MORILLO 1995, 205.

53. GARCA GUINEA 1970, 32.

54. PERALTA 2000, 190.

55. PERALTA 2000, 191.

56. BLZQUEZ 1971, 57.

57. LEN 1970, 181.

58. ROLLAND 1977, 46.

59. ROLLAND 1977, 33.

60 ROLLAND 1977, 34.

61. MANGAS 1995, 135.

62. LORRIO 2001, 194.

63. GARCA GUINEA 1997, 2.

64. GARCA GUINEA1997, 3.

65. GONZLEZ ECHEGARAY 1986 , 97 Fig. 20.

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