Celtic tents?

[richsc]

I've been pondering how to depict a celtic house in a portable display way, and wondered just what sort of portable thing celts took with them when they traveled: something tent like? I also wondered if they actually traveled much at all, given tribal rivalries? So maybe no real need for tents or wayhouses?
If so, it would seem 'tourist' would never be a celtic word.

[M. Demetrius]

Rich, I was once involved in a conceptual project to do the same thing. What we decided was to use modern material ultralight roof, and basically assemble a frame in the form of a Continental rectangular plain gable building, with the front walls absent, so visitors could look in, but not go in. We didn't intend it to look like a camping house (though evidently they've found some peg holes that indicate there were tents of some kind) but a settlement house. We decided that if we made the front wall absent, we could keep better track of our stuff, and people inside could come up and explain things.

The project never got further than some sketches and a cost analysis. What we had in mind could have been assembled like a theatre set, using flats for the ends and back wall, and support posts for the missing front. Looked like we could do a decent job for around 400 dollars. But we abandoned the project. It could likewise be accomplished by modifying an ordinary wall tent, I think, but we decided to go a different way. Then we decided just to go our separate ways.
:?

[Folkert van Wijk]

In the contrary Richard, Celts did move around a lot. There are tribes we know off that wandered around present day Europe for many years.
ending up in now a days Turkey (The Galatians) for example...

But how their tents looked and if they did have tents?????????

No body really knows "most probably" is what we can say for now... :?
I belief there are some wooden tent pegs found in Celtic context...

Your not the only "Celt" reenactor struggling with this question, and if yo would like to know a little more about it, or maybe find some ideas.
I would say, take a look here:

www.kelticos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=568

www.kelticos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=123

[richsc]

like a theatre set,

I'm not actually a celtic reenactor, being a stalwart of Legio XX, but we have been presenting a Pompeian impression of the caupona of Asellina for a few years. This is basically a theatrical set built of flats, but I can't see the celtic roundhouse built up from flats. I think a framework; would have to start with a sketch; anyone have good references>?

[M. Demetrius]

Fiona MacDonald has a pretty good kids' book that has drawings and overlays of a round house. We couldn't see how that could be made portable, and that's basically why we considered the rectangular house, made (I reckon) like your caupona. It works for theatres all over the world, so why not portable theatre?

[Folkert van Wijk]

like a theatre set,

This is basically a theatrical set built of flats, but I can't see the celtic roundhouse built up from flats.

Mind you, only the Celts in now adays England build round houses.
The continental Celts used rectangle houses. Like these..:

[Gobae]

Since Celtic tents is a common topic and I'd finally gotten around to scanning the info I figured I'd post it.

Ok, here's all the info that I have on the Celtic tents.

Pagan Celtic Ireland by Barry Raftery page 113

The possibility that tents once existed is raised by the discovery, in association with the Iron Age road at Corlea, of two wooden pegs, once complete, one fragmentary (see fig 63 [below]). The intact example in particular has been carved with great care to produce a rectangular section and flattened top, and has a deep triangular notch at one end and a pronounced barb at the other. In every detail the object is virtually indistinguishable in form from a modern tent-peg. Tent, flimsy and impermanent and made entirely of perishable materials, would normally leave no trace in the archaeological record. So, perhaps at Corlea we have a rare pointer to the former existence of tents.

Just as a further point of reference, Corlea was where a massive wooden plank road was uncovered. Also known as the "Road to God Knows Where" because it just ends/disappears into the bog.

Finally, here's a link to what our group decided to use for a "Celtic tent".

[url:14mh81zj]http://www.celticclans.org/projects/tent.html[/url]

[caiusbeerquitius]

You can find a very interestin article on celtic house reconstructions here:
www.univie.ac.at/keltologie/karlreko1999text.html
If you don´t undestand the language, you still have the pics, which will tell you alot.

[caiusbeerquitius]

You can find a very interestin article on celtic house reconstructions here:
[url:16scj9q9]http://www.univie.ac.at/keltologie/rekonstruktionen_keltischer_wohn.html[/url]

If you don´t undestand the language, you still have the pics, which will tell you a lot.