- Chapter Four -
The evidence from many excavations of chariot burials, coupled with that from
depictions on coins and notably on a stele from Padua (Frey 1968; Harbison 1969),
has allowed the reconstruction of Celtic chariots to be undertaken both as models
and as full-size artefacts (e.g. Furger-Gunti 1991); the recent reconstruction by
the Schweizerisches Landesmuseum incorporated longitudinal suspension, without
which it would have been virtually impossible to throw a spear from a moving
chariot with any accuracy.
CHARIOTS IN CLASSICAL SOURCES
Classical sources stress that chariots were used not in the heat of battle but as a means
of getting to the fray. Roman armies encountered Gaulish chariots at Sentinum,
and, as Arrian avers (Res Tactica XIX.2) that the Romans never practised fighting from
chariots themselves, the foot soldiers particularly must have been thoroughly terrified
when they met the Gauls. Standing erect in their chariots, the armed enemies came
rushing at them with a great clattering of hooves and wheels, frightening the Roman
horses by the unfamiliar din. Once the mad rush was over, the warriors dismounted
and fought on foot. The attendant kept the chariot at the ready, in order to effect,
if necessary, a speedy retreat (Livy, History x.28). A thousand chariots took part in
the battle of Sentinum; at Telemon, perhaps the last battle on the Continent in which
chariots were used, they were stationed on the wings (Polybius, Histories II.28).
Diodorus Siculus (History v.29.1; 21.5) explains that, when going into battle, the
Gauls used two-horsed chariots that carried the charioteer and the warrior. The use
of chariots, however, decreased as their prowess and agility as mounted soldiery
increased, and chariots were certainly no longer common when Caesar was
campaigning in Gaul, although there are a few late chariot burials. His army must
have been surprised when, after crossing the Channel, they saw the British chariots
drawn up against them. He described the scene. 'They drive all over the field, hurling
javelins and throwing the enemy-ranks into confusion by the terror inspired by the
horses and the noise of the wheels. Then they jump down from their chariots and
engage on foot.' Caesar continues, 'Their daily training and practice have made them
so expert that they can control their horses at full gallop on a steep incline and then
check and turn them in a moment .. .' They 'can run along the chariot pole, stand
on the yoke, and get back into the chariot very speedily' (De Bello Gallico IV.B).
At the battle of Mons Graupius in north-east Scotland (AD 83) Tacitus describes
the Caledonians as receiving Calgacus's speech (a literary device created by Tacitus
himself) with an uproar of war-cries and confused shouting, as is their custom.
Before the battle began, the charioteers (covinarii) filled the intervening space with
noisy manoeuvring. They did not have much success, however, probably because the
terrain did not suit that kind of warfare (Agricola 35-6).
Finally, as a picture of the Celtic love of flamboyant display, there is the appear-
ance of Bituitus, king of the Arverni, in the Roman triumphal procession after
his defeat (121 Be). There the most conspicuous figure was the king himself in his
vari-coloured arms and silver-plated chariot, just as he had been when he fought in
battle (Florus, Epitome of Roman History 1.37).