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Celtic Bronze Shields

The ancient Celts produced magnificent bronze shields in Iron Age Britain which were most likely for ceremonial purposes and display. Several fine examples have miraculously survived as evidence of the imagination, skill, and artistry of Celtic craftworkers. The outstanding example is the Battersea Shield, now in the British Museum, but there are several other complete bronze shields and bosses which amply illustrate that the Celts commonly decorated shields whether they were intended for battle, display, or as votive offerings.

Celtic Shields - Design & Function

Celtic warriors had distinctive shields which were most often large and oval or rectangular in shape. These shields were made of wood and leather with buckles in metal with a central boss for added strength. The reverse side typically had one handhold. Such shields are frequently represented in art from the Gundestrup Cauldron to figurines of warrior gods. The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus, writing in the 1st century BCE, described Celtic shields as:

...man-sized shields decorated according to individual taste. Some of these have projecting figures in bronze skilfully made not only for decoration but also for protection.

(in Allen, 22).

Another category of shields was those made not for the battlefield but to impress off it. Such shields were made from sheets of bronze and are so thin and fragile as to be of no practical use in actual Celtic warfare: the millimetres-thick bronze could have easily been slashed by a sword blade. However, some bronze facings would have originally been attached to a wooden or leather backing for greater strength. These shields were probably carried in processions and important tribal events as they displayed the wealth and power of the Celtic rulers who were the most likely owners of them. Buried in the tombs of such important figures or given as votive offerings in religious rituals, remarkably, several of these shields have survived for posterity. They were typically found by accident by workers and not archaeologists. As the historians J. Farley and F. Hunter state:

Many of our finest pieces of Celtic art are chance finds like this, often from wet or out-of-the-way locations such as rivers, bogs, lakes or mountains. These were not just casual losses; it is unlikely people would be so repeatedly careless with such valuable things. It is also unlikely they were buried for safekeeping; a river is not a good place in which to hide something. These items were deliberately deposited, perhaps as sacrifices to unknown gods, during rites of passage, or to seal agreements between individuals or groups. (103)