My buddy Cynred introduced me to Roman Army Talk, which I've been finding a terrific resource for my Coptic interest.
Today, I stumbled on Kelticos, which has lots of lovely (and new to me) archeological directions, as well as people who are very focused on late Iron Age Europe.
I was actually looking for some guidance on a ceramic oil lamp, because this weekend I can play with dirt under the guidance of Kerstyn Gartenier, but of course, I got sidetracked. Here's an illustrative exchange about Celtic household furnishings:
studied designs from the Mediterranean and presented British artifacts
that show these were made from local materials in Britain. Numerous
examples exist to support her work from the artwork of the period too.
How does this apply? She has written about rush mats being used in
homes, and the evidence of wicker furniture. These materials were
available, and basketry was made and used by the Celts before the
Romans came. Wicker was even used on chariots and make early shields.
So could it have been possible for wicker furniture to have existed in
Celtic dwellings? I think so. Now it's not all that hard to imagine
that couch being made of wicker, is it?
Hallstatt Hochdorf burial couch, c.550 BCE
and here's what I wanted on the oil lamps, though I wish there was a better citation. Here's an impressive collection of them on flickr.
I came across ancientlamps.com two or three years ago, but sadly I understand she’s been “closed for now” since even a year or so before that. There are some AMAZING guys from eastern europe on the Marketplace page of RAT. http://www.antiquitas.pl/. They’re doing absolutely beautiful copies of roman pottery (at ridiculously low prices). And their catalog is huge.
Thanks a superb deal! I truly enjoyed reading this.Looking through these posts and also the info you’ve provided I can appreciate that I still have a lot of things to learn.
Am not going to be surprised if wicker furniture was available back then. It’s a great easy to come by material.
I am surprised to see such beautiful furniture.