At the Entrance before the Wall: The Display Context of Gallaecian-Lusitanian Warrior Statues

Original title: Am Eingang vor der Mauer. Zum Aufstellungskontext galläkisch-lusitanischer Kriegerstatuen

Abstract Along with graves it is above all the walls and gateways of settlements that appear to be typical display contexts of the Celtic warrior statues of northwest Hispania. Warrior statues form the biggest group of this type of sculpted statuary, whose monuments, evidently originating from Picenum/Italy, are to be found from the late 7th cent. BC first north of the Alps and finally in Hispania until into the Roman imperial period. While the central European monuments are deposited shortly after being erected, the Hispanic ones apparently remain standing for a long time. This centuries-old tradition can only be explained if the population actually perceived the erection of the statues as consistent with the effect thereby intended. Set up before the gate, they enhance the fortifications, maintain the defence, render the symbolic dimension visible, refer to the genealogical tradition of the community’s heroes, and have an apotropaic effect. It seems that the erection of large-format statues was practised in an idiosyncratic form in the Hispanic northwest.

Keywords Celtic statuary, Gallaecian-Lusitanian warrior statues, display context, gateway, city walls