Celtic necropolis has no skeletons but exceptional swords

The excavation of the Celtic necropolis in Creuzier-le-Neuf, central France, has uncovered exceptional metal artifacts, including two swords still in their scabbards that are among the best-preserved, best-made Iron Age weapons ever found in Europe.

Creuzier-le-Neuf is a small town (population 1,200) six miles north of Vichy today, but in the Iron Age it was a pivotal location, at the crossroads of the territories of the Arverni, Aedui, and Bituriges peoples. The burial ground from the middle La Tène period (4th – 2nd century B.C.) was discovered in a preventative archaeology excavation in 2022, but the recovered objects are only being announced now after years of painstaking conservation revealed just how spectacular they are.

The necropolis consists of a quadrangular enclosure covering an area of 7,000 square feet bordered by a wide ditch. Within its perimeter, archaeologists unearthed more than 100 graves. The soil is highly acidic so no osteological remains survived of the inhumations, and there was only one cremation burial containing a small funerary vase with punchwork decoration and alternating painted bands of red and black.

What did survive the millennia, however, were high-quality metal artifacts in significant quantities. Almost 50% of the graves contained metal jewelry, predominantly bronze bracelets in singles and in pairs, but also 18 fibulae made of bronze or iron. The bracelets range in design from simple coiled round-section rods to a matched pair engraved with curvilinear and ocelli (circular) motifs. Most of the bracelets are delicately crafted with concealed clasps in which a small pointed tab on one terminal fits perfectly into a fitted hole on the other.

The fibulae were heavily corroded, so much so that their quality was not recognizable when they were first recovered from the graves. Specialist conservators at CREAM, the Municipal Center for Restoration and Archaeological Studies in Vienne, southeastern France, were able to clean, stabilize and reconstruct the brooches. One of them was found to have an ocelli decoration of its own, and the stand-out piece was a disc brooch with a cabochon decorated with silver leaf repoussé dating to the end of the 4th century or the beginning of the 3rd century B.C.

But the greatest stars of the show were two swords found in two graves. When they were unearthed, they were encased in a hardened matrix of corrosion materials and soil. After meticulous stabilization in the conservation laboratory, the swords were revealed to be ornate examples still in their original scabbards.

One is undoubtedly the most spectacular object in the necropolis (grave 782). Its scabbard allowed it to be worn at the waist. The handle and front plate of the scabbard, made of copper alloys, are covered with scrollwork or ocelli. Several cabochons adorn the edges of the already richly decorated scabbard. At least two of them feature swastika decorations and probably glass paste.

The sword consists of a short, elongated, pointed blade with a handle with antennae, made of iron, combined with spheres made of copper alloys or copper. X-rays revealed inlays on the top of the blade: a circle and a crescent moon separated by a line. The detail of the decorations indicates a design at the very beginning of the 4th century BC.

The second sword (grave 990) is still accompanied by the suspension rings allowing it to be worn at the waist. Apart from a pair of eyespots discreetly occupying the top of the scabbard, it is distinguished from the previous one by the absence of other decoration. Shreds of fabric remain, caught in the metallic oxidation at the back of the scabbard. They could come from one of the deceased’s garments, a shroud, or a case. The size and typology of the sword suggest that it was made during the 4th century BC.