- Chapter Four -
and infantry. At Cannae there was none of the usual advance and withdrawal: as soon
as the two forces met they dismounted and fought on foot, man to man (Polybius,
Histories III. 6 5 and II 5). Such actions were forced upon the opposing units because
of lack of space for any outflanking or skirmishing manoeuvres (Livy, History
XX1l.47)·
The German cavalry used to dismount and fight on foot; they had trained their
horses to remain on the spot so that they could return to them quickly in case of
need. The Celtiberians had a similar manoeuvre, but they had a small peg attached
to their reins which they fixed to the ground when they dismounted to keep the
horses on that spot until they returned (Polybius, Fragment 21). Other warrior bands
clearly fought from horseback rather than dismounting; a skilful horseman armed
with a stout lance as well as a sword, shield and perhaps a helmet would have been
an effective member of any charge. The use of spears by mounted warriors is attested
by representations on coins and on the Gundestrup Cauldron.
When Caesar crossed the Rhine, he discovered that the Germans thought it rather
shameful to use saddles and that they dared to engage with any number of saddled
horsemen regardless of how many they were outnumbered by (Caesar, De Bello
Gallico IV.2).
The Roman and Celtic squadrons had horses which were bridled (jrenati) and
saddled (instrati). When the Numidian cavalry came on the scene they were always
referred to as unbridled (sine frenis). Neither the Romans nor the Celts had know-
ledge of stirrups. The fullest appreciation of the Celtic skills in horsemanship is
provided by Arrian writing in AD 136 in a manual of cavalry training. 'The Romans
have adopted the exercises of the Celtic horsemen who, in their opinion, had the
highest reputation in battle.' He describes fully how these were used in a special
cavalry school whose patron was the Emperor Hadrian (Arrian, Res Tactica 33-4).
BURIALS AND VOTIVE DEPOSITS
By beginning our discussion with the most prestigious and individual aspects of the
archaeological record, warrior burials with chariots, and then following such themes
as helmets and horsemanship, we have concentrated on the unusual rather than on
the mass of the evidence. Such a course is compounded both by the archaeological
richness and by the predilection for the unusual among the classical authors, perhaps
a natural partiality of reportage. But the large numbers of burials belonging to the
core of any warrior band, which have been found in particular areas of Celtic Europe
(though not in others), is in itself remarkable. Almost no other group represented in
the archaeological and historical evidence from such a wide geographical spectrum
commands comparable respect from its peers (and it is perhaps worth noting that
burials of mercenary Celts are almost unknown). This respect may also be sensed in
the absence of evidence for grave-robbing, although the location of many burials
must have been evident.
The ritual and religious aspects of Celtic warfare and weapons may seem at some
remove from the essentially practical aspects of this chapter, but the richness of the
preservation of organic material from votive deposits in many parts of the Celtic