Rich or poor, Celts lived in simple houses constructed of whatever natural materials were most readily available in the local environment. In most areas this meant timber, wattle and clay but in Spain and upland parts of Britain unmortared stone was also used. Celtic houses usually conformed to two main types. In most of Celtic Europe houses had a roughly rectangular plan but in Britain, Ireland and north-west Spain they were usually circular. In Italy Celtic houses are difficult to recognise because the Cisalpine Gauls seem quickly to have adopted the building techniques of the conquered native peoples. Monumental buildings on the scale of those common in the Mediterranean world were unknown before the Roman conquest, but the size of a house was probably a reliable indicator of the wealth and status of its owner, the larger buildings being the homes or feasting halls of the aristocracy. Preservation of Celtic houses is naturally best in those areas where there was extensive use of stone. In a few areas timber houses were built on stone foundations, which would protect them from the damp and make them last longer, but in most areas timbers were simply set directly into the ground. Houses built in this way typically last only 20 years or so before they need to be rebuilt, so all traces of their structures have long since decayed. However, archaeologists can recover the ground plans of wooden houses by plotting the patterns of post holes which are left in the ground. Long after the timbers which once stood in these holes have rotted away, they remain identifiable to archaeologists because the soil which has filled them is usually of different colour and texture to the surrounding undisturbed soil. Because of the extensive deforestation which Iron Age Europe had undergone, timber was used economically. Irrespective of their plan, most houses were built with timber frames, but non-load-bearing parts of the walls were filled with wattle-and-daub, that is a lattice of thin branches sealed with clay to make it draughtproof. Roofs were made of thatch. The interiors of Celtic houses were dark and smoky - there were no windows or smoke holes because these would have caused draughts and let rain in - but they were also well insulated and weatherproof. Celts would not have shivered round their fires on winter nights. The permanently smoky area under the roof was put to good use - being dry, deficient in oxygen and insect-free, it was ideal for hanging and preserving meat. There is little evidence of the use of furniture but written accounts say that Celts sat on furs and ate off low tables. Though the larger houses of the aristocracy might have up to four rooms, most Celtic houses had only one room so there was little privacy for the occupants. The stone wheelhouses that were built in northern Scotland had alcoves radiating from a central living area around the hearth (in plan they resemble a spoked wheel, hence the name). Some of these alcoves may have
Been used as bedrooms, others for storage. As well as the family dwelling house, a typical Celtic farmstead would also have a number of outbuildings, such as byres for livestock, storerooms and workshops.
Greek and Roman writers often drew attention to the striking appearance of the Celts, describing them as being very tall, fair skinned and blond or red haired. This is undoubtedly a stereotypical description as skeletal evidence from Celtic burials does not suggest that they were in general physically distinct from other Europeans. Celts apparently took great pride in their dress and personal grooming, but fashions varied in different regions. The appearance of the Gauls is best documented, not only from Greek and Roman writings and sculptures, such as the famous Dying Gaul from Pergamon, but also from Celtic coins and rare stone heads. Gallic men wore long sleeved tunics belted at the waist and long baggy trousers; women wore long dresses. Cloaks decorated in colourful tartan and other patterns were worn by both sexes. Most clothes were made of wool or linen cloth and could be decorated with embroidery and, for the rich, gold thread. Silk was a luxury available to the rich. Both sexes shaved or plucked their body hair - a painful business - but men wore luxuriant moustaches and sometimes beards. Men in particular seem to have paid a lot of attention to their hair, which they washed with a mixture of lime and water to whiten it and stiffen it so that it could be moulded into spikes. Although men were expected to be able to eat and drink heroically at feasts, they also had to watch their weight as pot bellies were considered to be very unattractive. This is unusual because in pre-industrial societies an ample girth was generally treated as a desirable sign of prosperity (poor people did not usually get to eat enough to put on weight). Both sexes wore much of their personal wealth in the form of jewellery. Some jewellery was practical - most brooches, for example, were used as fasteners for dresses and cloaks - while other pieces, such as bracelets, arm rings and necklaces, were purely decorative. The item of jewellery which is most closely associated with the Celts is the tore, which was a heavy metal neck ring. Representations of Celtic gods often show them wearing tores, so they may have had a symbolic or religious meaning or perhaps were signs of rank. Tattooing or body painting seems not to have been practised by the Gauls but was distinctive to the Britons.
Life expectancy for the ancient Celts appears to have been comparable with that of other pre-industrial societies. Although child burials are rarely found - children may have been treated differently from adults in death - infant mortality was almost certainly very high. Most men, if they survived to adulthood in the first place, would die before reaching their fifties, while the risks associated with childbirth were such that a woman would be lucky to see her thirtieth birthday. Physically demanding and repetitive domestic tasks, such as grinding corn, meant that by their late twenties most women were suffering from osteoarthritis of the spine. Health care was probably rudimentary, based on a mixture of herbal medicines and magic, but some Celts possessed surgical skills as sets of surgical instruments have occasionally been found as grave goods.
World History
