beginning, possibly to ward off evil spirits. Th ese intricately
patterned knot designs undoubtedly had some signifi cance,
but those meanings changed from tribe to tribe and location
to location. Celtic jewelry with animal patterns is similar in
construction to Celtic knots, but the cords terminate in feet,
heads, tails, and other animal elements. Th e animal designs
refl ect Saxon and Pict traditions of abstract beast forms. Much
of Celtic jewelry was made of bronze, the preferred metal of
this culture.
C r o w n s i n a n c i e n t t i m e s w e r e m o r e e x c l u s i v e. Th ey served
as symbols of rulership, as rewards, and as off erings in public
and private ceremonies. Crowns ranged from ephemeral cir-
clets of grass, leaves, and fl owers to permanent insignia made
of gold and gems. Th eir shapes also varied, from wide bands
to diadems, tiaras, and ribbons. Th e type of crown used de-
pended upon the ritual context and the wearers.
Various types of jewelry could be found throughout Eu-
rope. Th e Gauls had enameled torques, anklets, and rings,
which men wore on their left hands and women pushed only
halfway onto their fi ngers. Th ey also wore fi bula, or clasps
something like safety pins, with metal disks or openwork
decorations. Th e fi bula increased in size over time and was
sometimes decorated with emblems. Much European jewelry
was enhanced by gems. Amber, a stonelike substance com-
posed of fossilized tree resin from the Baltic Sea coastline,
may have been among the fi rst substances used solely for
decorative purposes. It was used extensively in ornaments in
Europe from Paleolithic times (dating to as recently as 8000
b.c.e. but stretching back much longer). Nordic, Germanic,
Celtic, and Slavic tribes all incorporated amber into their
culture, with craft smen fashioning the amber from its shape-
less natural state into such personal adornments as beads and
disks for the elite classes.
Other ornaments were made of tortoiseshell. Th e remov-
able outside layer of a seagoing turtle’s shell, tortoiseshell was
used by cultures with access to sea turtles. Th e shell of theToiletry implements (including toothpicks, scoops to clean the ears, and instruments to handle cosmetics and creams) from Roman Britain, buried
in the fi ft h century c.e. (© Th e Trustees of the British Museum)
10 adornment: Europe