The Atlantic Bronze Age is a term that has never been formally defined. Some take its meaning to be a label for the period spanning approximately 1300–700 BC in Britain, France, Ireland, Portugal and Spain; that is, the Atlantic coast of Europe. Others assign it to a cultural complex of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

period in

prehistoric Europe Prehistoric Europe refers to Europe before the start of written records, beginning in the Lower Paleolithic. As history progresses, considerable regional unevenness in cultural development emerges and grows. The region of the eastern Mediterra ...

that is defined by the culture prevalent at this time and location.

Trade

The Atlantic Bronze Age is characterized by economic and cultural exchange between far-flung communities, resulting in a high degree of cultural similarity seen in coastal communities ranging from central

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in the south of coastal Europe, through Galicia (Spain), the Atlantic coast of France, including

Armorica In ancient times, Armorica or Aremorica (Gaulish: ; ; ) was a region of Gaul between the Seine and the Loire that includes the Brittany Peninsula, and much of historical Normandy. Name The name ''Armorica'' is a Latinized form of the Gauli ...

(Brittany) to

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in southwest England and as far north as

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. This is evidenced by the frequent use of stone as

chevaux-de-frise The cheval de frise (, plural chevaux de frise ; , plural , "Frisian horses") was a defensive obstacle, existing in a number of forms, principally as a static anti-cavalry obstacle but also quickly movable to close breaches. The term was also ...

, the construction of cliff castles, and a similarity of domestic architecture and living spaces, sometimes characterized by roundhouses. Trade contacts extended northwards and eastwards to Sweden and Denmark and eastwards as far as the Mediterranean.

Metal production

This Bronze Age culture was characterized by distinct regional centers of metal production, linked by regular maritime trade. The main centers were in southern England and Ireland, northwestern France, and western Iberia (Spain and Portugal). Items associated with this culture are often found in hoards or deposited in ritual areas. Metal finds have typically been preserved in watery contexts such as rivers, lakes, and bogs. This cultural complex includes various items, such as socketed and double-ring bronze axes, sometimes found buried in large hoards in

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and Galicia. Military equipment such as lunate spearheads, V-notched shields, and a variety of bronze swords, including carp-tongue swords, are usually found buried in lakes, rivers, or rocky outcrops. Elite feasting equipment such as spits, kettles, and meat hooks have also been found from central Portugal to Scotland.

Celtic influence

It is during this period that the Celts rose to prominence in Europe In particular, the Celtic language may have developed as an Atlantic

lingua franca A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, link language or language of wider communication (LWC), is a Natural language, language systematically used to make co ...

. Communities may have adopted elite status markers such as grip-tongue swords and bronze sheet metalwork from the

Urnfield The Urnfield culture () was a late Bronze Age culture of Central Europe, often divided into several local cultures within a broader Urnfield tradition. The name comes from the custom of cremating the dead and placing their ashes in urns, which ...

period (Bronze D and Hallstatt A) and they must also have acquired the skills for their production, and ritual knowledge about their proper treatment involving deposition. These changes may indicate processes related to language change. The emergence of Celtic languages with a

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the hypothetical ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed throu ...

homeland in west-central Europe can be explained by elite contact from east to west. However, this view contrasts with the more widely accepted view that Celtic origins are linked to the central European Hallstatt C culture.

Gallery

File:Museo Pontevedra, Ed. Sarmiento 02-12c.JPG, A Bronze Age gold hoard: ''Tesouro de Caldas'', Galicia, Spain File:Late Bronze Age Gold Torque from Grunty Fen in the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.jpg, Gold torque from Stretham, England File:"Die Geschichte Irlands von der Steinzeit bis zum Spätmittelalter". 18.jpg, Bronze weapons, shields and musical instruments,

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

File:Epee et lance BA.jpg, Bronze Age swords, France File:Caergwrle bowl.jpg, The

Caergwrle Bowl The Caergwrle Bowl is a unique object dating to the Middle Bronze Age, , originally manufactured from shale, tin and gold, and found in Caergwrle, Flintshire, north east Wales. It is thought to represent a boat, with its applied gold decoration s ...

, Wales, File:Museo Arqueolóxico do Castelo de San Antón, A Coruña.jpg,

Casco de Leiro The gold Casco de Leiro ("Helmet of Leiro") is a ritual hemispherical cap probably dating to the end of the Late Bronze Age (''circa'' 1,000 to 800 BC) in the town of Leiro (municipality of Rianxo, Galicia, Spain). The circumstances of its di ...

, Galicia, Spain File:Cuencos de Axtroki (M.A.N. 1973-77) 01.jpg, Gold bowls from Axtroki, Spain File:Bronze Age bracelets and neckrings with pot from Milton Keynes (FindID 509421).jpg, Gold bracelets and neckrings, England, 1150–750 BC File:Sintra collar.jpg,

Sintra collar The Sintra Collar () is a Bronze Age gold neck-ring found near Sintra in Portugal. Since 1900, it has been part of the British Museum's collection and has long been admired for the sophistication and geometric beauty of its design and technique.

, Portugal, c. 10th century BC File:Atlantic Bronze Age riveted cauldrons. Left Cantabria, Spain. Right Chiseldon, UK.jpg, Bronze cauldrons. Left Cabárceno, Spain. Right

Chiseldon Chiseldon is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The village lies on the edge of the Marlborough Downs, a mile south of junction 15 of the M4 motorway, on the A346 between Swindon and Marlborough. The larg ...

, England. File:Treasure case 04.2, Middle Bronze Age hoard from Burton, Wrexham (FindID 436588-323099).jpg, Gold and bronze hoard from Wrexham, Wales, 1300-1150 BC File:Ceinture en or MAN.jpg, Gold torque or belt from Guînes, France, 1300-1150 BC File:Torque or strié.jpg, Gold torque from Guînes, Pas-de-Calais, France. File:Deposito da Samieira.JPG, ''Deposito da Samieira'', a hoard of Galician Bronze Age axes. Museo de

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a city in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. It is the capital of both the ''Pontevedra (comarca), Comarca'' and Province of Pontevedra, and the capital of the Rías Baixas. It is als ...

File:Museo Arqueológico Nacional - 1898-1-1 - Estela de Solana de Cabañas.jpg, Stele of Solana de Cabañas, Spain. File:A collection of items from the Adabrock hoard, Isle of Lewis.jpg,

Adabrock Hoard The Adabrock Hoard is a collection of Late Bronze Age artefacts deposited at Adabroc, Isle of Lewis, Scotland around 1000-800 BC. Description The artefacts comprise two bronze socketed axeheads, a spearhead, a gouge, a hammer, three razors, ...

, c. 1000 BC File:Tesoro de Bodonal de la Sierra (32869509577).jpg, Gold torque from the Treasure of Berzocana, Extremadura, Spain File:Sword bronze age.JPG, Ceremonial bronze dirk, France, File:Dirks in BM.jpg, Dirks from England and France File:Brazalete da Urdiñeira, Museo de Lugo.jpg, Brazalete da Urdiñeira, Spain File:Torque - Man - Saint-Germain-en-Laye - 27 mars 2017.jpg, Gold torc, Saint-Jean-Trolimon, France File:Display of bronze age finds, Musée de Préhistoire, Carnac, 2019-09-05-3.jpg, Bronze axes, France File:Disco de oro. Bronce Final. 1000-800 a. C.jpg, Gold disk/ring, Extremadura, Spain, File:Dun Aengus 2017 - Inis Mor, Ireland.jpg,

Dún Aonghasa (unofficial anglicised version Dun Aengus) is the best-known of several prehistoric hill forts on the Aran Islands of County Galway, Ireland. It lies on , at the edge of a cliff. A popular tourist attraction, Dún Aonghasa is also an importa ...

hillfort, Ireland

References

External links