Salt was necessary for preserving food and working leather, so the rock-salt deposits in various
regions of the Alps were highly prized. The most favored deposits were (later) known as Hallstatt,
Hallein-Dürrnberg and Reichensall.  Dürnberg was the home to a major Celtic site occupied from
c.500-300 B.C. The Celts in the fifth and sixth century BC already operated mines in Dürrnberg, and
from a depth of three hundred meters they mined the completely pure core salt and traded it in large
pieces. They did not process it with water as was done in the Middle Ages. Approximately two
hundred men were active in the shafts, working by the light of torches. The Dürrnberg salt provided
them with great wealth. The Celts lived in scattered housing estates mostly on long, terraced
mountain slopes, with individual farmsteads complete with their own grave fields.
The Celts of Salz
In Greek they were called Keltoi, in Latin Celtae, and they were also
called Galatae. The civilization of the Celts first appeared in the lands
just North of the Alps in Greek texts during the Iron Age, roughly the
last 600 to 800 years B.C. From the 7th century B.C., one of the main
regions of Celtic occupation was in Austria centered around
modern-day Hallstatt, a large prehistoric salt-mining area. The Hallstatt
Period, 750-c.450 BC, is named after this region. The word 'Hall' is
found in German place-names or geographical features and is derived
from the ancient word for salt. The site at Hallstatt, Austria was first
uncovered by a local man, Georg Ramsauer, in 1846.
Hallstatt Celtic  warriers, left
Thirty years later, a team of investigators from the Academy of Sciences in Vienna performed an
exhaustive investigation of the local salt mine and the approximately 2,500 grave sites there. Before
discoveries at Hallstatt, the European Iron Age map technically included only Rome and Greece as
"civilizations". The Hallstatt Culture reflects the Celts' development between the beginning of the
ninth century B.C. and the middle of the seventh century B.C.
When miners once again started working the salt mines under the
Salzburg Archbishops, they found ancient Celts' bodies perfectly
preserved in salt in the mines. Then, in 1932, the grave of a Celtic
chieftain was discovered there with, among other finds, a skeleton of an
apparent Chief with a two-wheeled chariot, various burial objects and
an iron knife. It had long since been looted. During the excavations of
the graves, bones were often found of young deceased women, many
presumably having had died during childbirth. There were also many
remains of children.
Elaborate timber-framed burial chambers were constructed with this in mind. They were buried
richly clothed and jeweled, with food for the journey to the next life, although at later dates they
were also buried with weapons of war. Excavations from this region show the well-established use of
bronze for weapons and jewelry. Although they did not mint or trade coins, they created beautiful
artifacts of gold and silver. The Hallstatt Celts also made pottery.
They enjoyed an aristocratic society with chiefs and royal families, as proven by the
discovery of high-status burials containing gold, amber, and other precious materials.
The Chief was supported by warrior nobility, with bards and druids being recruited
out of this social class, and there are indications that some slaves were kept. The
Hallstatt Celts established trade links with Bohemia, possibly the Baltic Sea, and to
Mediterranean regions such as Massalia, an ancient Greek colony located in the area
of present-day Marseilles. They actively engaged in barter trade of salt for luxury
items: wine, furniture and fabrics. At home, they were traditionally farmers focused
on growing cereals and raising stock such as sheep, goats, cattle, pigs, horses (the
horse meat was not eaten), and chickens. They were not mainly hunters.
The Druids acted as intermediaries between the gods and Celtic
society. They were men recruited from the nobility, and they
interpreted the will of the gods, supervised sacrifices, observed
nature and created unique calendars. Since their deities were
tribal, each clan had its own names for particular gods and
goddesses, accounting for the over 300 different names recorded
in Celtic mythology.
At the height of their influence, Celtic tribes covered lands extending from what is now Spain to the
shores of the Black Sea. When the Romans penetrated into the northern alpine region, Roman rule
slowly purged the Celtic culture, and the Celtic mining industry disappeared. After the decline of this
late Celtic civilization, mining was suspended in this area for about a thousand years.
Left: A bronze wine flagon from Dürrnberg, 5th century B.C. The elegant body is
made from only one piece bronze with a poured and riveted handle depicting Taranis,
the Celtic god of thunder, holding a human head in the muzzle. It an early example of
Celtic art known to archaeologists as 'La Tène' style which denotes a period which
took over from Hallstatt Culture and is divided into three periods: Early La Tene,
600-500 B.C., Middle La Tene, 300-100 B.C. and Late La Tene which leads into the
end of Celtic dominance in central Europe as the Roman Empire expanded north into
the Celts' territories. This period is characterised by, among other things, warrior
graves and a new kind of art.
Around 390B.C., the Gallic Senones had actually
sacked Rome, but were driven back and largely
contained in the Po Valley which became Gallia
Cisalpina, 'Gaul this side of the Alps'. Migrating Celtic
groups also invaded the Balkans and, in 279B.C.,
attacked Delphi in Greece. Defeated with terrible
losses, some crossed into Anatolia and were known as
'Gauls' or 'Galatae' (the Galatians of the New
Testament). The Celts were gradually integrated into
other tribal groups and ethnicities.
In 1858, at Neuchatel, Switzerland, more Celtic objects were uncovered and excavations indicated
that "busy and continuous life" had existed by the lake at Neuchatel for hundreds of centuries.
La Tène 'culture' indicates the physical remains of groups who, around 400B.C., suddenly appeared
in Italy and began to settle the Po Valley.
(end of Salt)
Over half of their population died before adulthood and those who survived lived until the age of 40
to 45.. if they were healthy and lucky. Having no modern concept of hell or heaven, the wealth that
these ancient miners accumulated bought them safe passage to the afterlife they believed in
The ritualistic and religious Celtic tribes were united by common speech and practises. They regarded
the Earth as the property of divine forces.