Oppida and Celtic society in western Spain

Jesús R. Álvarez-Sanchís, Departamento de Prehistoria, Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Abstract

The emergence of large fortified settlements, known as oppida, in "Celtic" Iberia during the Late Iron Age is a process which we are just beginning to understand. As in other areas of temperate Europe, there were probably substantial differences between these settlements in terms of their geographical setting, size, form, function and chronology. The exploration of the relationships between oppida, material culture and ethnicity is considered for the Vettones, one of the most famous pre-Roman peoples of western Spain. It is argued that the configuration of the settlements and communities, the sociological interpretation of the cemeteries and the regional patterns of settlement offer interesting insights into social organization of the indigenous world in Iberia between the fourth and first centuries BC.

Keywords

Oppidum, Vettones, Identity, Meseta, Iron Age, Roman conquest

Towards the formation of the oppida (400-200 BC): the internal stimuli

How many people?

Social spaces and symbolic spaces

Towards the formation of the oppida (200-50 BC): external stimuli

The oppida and Rome

Bibliography