Chapter IV

Numantia in the Celtiberian Context

The Celtiberian culture began back in the 6th century BCE, developing urban life in its final stages, as from the 4th-century BCE. The city was designed as a veritable organisational, administrative and political hub for all the surrounding villages and hamlets within its territory.

Grains of wheat and rye have been found in Numantia; these were the raw material of the caelia or beer, which, according to Orosius, was bitter tasting and heady . An analysis of the mills has shown that acorns, wheat and rye had been milled. Trace-element analysis of the bone remains in the necropolis show that the local diet was rich in vegetable components, nuts and dried fruit (especially acorns) but poor in animal protein. Moncayo was famed for its iron work; Marcial praised the quality of the steel tempered in the waters of the Celtiberian rivers. Its special features prompted the Roman army to take up the Spanish sword, the gladius hispaniensis , characterised by its sharp point and fearsome edges.

Funerary Ritual

Two Celtiberian burial rites are known to us . Those who died in combat were left on the battlefield to be scavenged by vultures. As the vultures tore the strips of the body the spirit would be raised to the Great Beyond, where the deceased would enjoy the company of the gods. Those who died a natural death were incinerated; the ashes, in the case of Numantia necropolis, were then placed in a hollow together with the grave goods and marked with a stele.

Finding the necropolis was one of the researchers’ prime goals throughout the twentieth century. In the first decades the Commission drilled about 53 boreholes around the Numantine hill, without satisfactory results.

The necropolis finally came to light in 1993 after unofficial excavations that were then brought to the notice of the directors of the Numantia Master Plan. It was found on the southern slopes of the hill, stretching over an area of more than one hectare. Excavation thereof has provided priceless information on the life of the Numantines. A study of the tomb structure, for example, together with the grave goods, the layout and organization of the cemetery and the osteological and dietary analysis, have brought out new aspects of the funerary ritual and the community’s socioeconomic organization. These rituals can now be broken down into four groups of burials: firstly, with weapons; secondly, with bronze adornments (a crosier showing high social rank); thirdly, with marbles and sewing needles and a fourth group without any grave goods at all.

Gallery of chapter images

go on to chapter V >>>The Calendar-Changing Celtiberians Wars

Bibliographical references