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This image shows a recreation of a typical Celtic fortified settlement. Even though it is not based on the settlement at Třísov, we can still see the many characteristics that would have applied there, 2000 years ago.
These people were farmers and their lives revolved around their cattle. Cattle were treasured for meat and skins, but they were also a status symbol, reflecting the wealth of the tribe and the power of its chief. Cattle raids were common and so the cattle could graze the surrounding meadows during the day but return to the protection of the guarded ringed fields for the night.
The chief and his family may have resided in the central house while others lived in smaller huts scattered around the complex.
This sketch illustrates how the defensive walls may have been constructed. A wide ditch was dug around the outside with the excavated earth mixed with stones to form an internal ring wall or embankment. Wooden poles were sunk into the earth bank, and the outside face was lined with large rocks. The base of the wall was up to 7m wide in Oppidum Třísov.
This map shows the enormous scale of the hill fort at Třísov. The East and North sides are bordered by the high cliffs along the Vltava River. The West side is protected by two enormous defensive walls as described above. The entrance into the fort from the West side is particularly interesting.
The Hill Fort at Třísov was one of the largest Celtic settlements along the ancient salt trade route which ran between the salt mines in the Austrian Alps to the Baltic Sea. We can imagine how the residents at Třísov profitted from the trade route. They may have taken taxes from the traders who passed and sheltered there. Perhaps they benefitted by providing food and shelter to the traders and to their horses. And of course they would have been able to sell their own produce to the traders who were moving from one settlement to another and from one market to the next.
The Celtic Tribe who inhabited Bohemia were known to the Romans as the Boii. The word Bohemia means land of the Boii. It is likely that the word originates from the Latin word for cattle ( bos, bovine) as these were cattle people. In the irish language the word for a cow is "bó" and the word for a road is "bóthar", which literally means cow path.
"The Cattle Raid of Cooley" is one of the most famous legends passed down from generation to generation by story tellers in Ireland. The tale is set in the days of provincial kings and queens and involves a dispute over cattle and their prized bulls, which leads to a violent conflict. These stories may contain many elements of fiction but they still provide a lot of detail regarding the laws and traditions and priorities of the time.
It is easy for me to sit among the old stone walls of Třísov and to feel connected to our distant Celtic ancestors.
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