The ancient Celts are generally studied by anthropologists in the English-speaking world, while in Germany they are the province of Vor- und Frühgeschichte (pre- and protohistory), a sister discipline to classical archaeology. As an art historian trained in classical archaeology, I approach Celtic art from a contextual, archaeological and formalist point of view.
Very few Celtic sites have been excavated; even fewer are published. Privileging of Greek art has led to comparative neglect of art produced by other cultural groups, such as the Etruscan, north Italian Este and Golasecca, and eastern Scythian, Thraco-Cimmerian and Siberian, none of which should be ignored, although they cannot receive exhaustive treatment in this study. My aim is to construct an alternative interpretational model that takes the limitations of excavation and preservation into consideration. Since I contend that other methods err when they impose conclusions on material that does not support them, my study will allow the evidence of the objects and contexts to lead to the conclusions; anthropological and art historical theory are invoked to illuminate, but are not the primary focus. As determined by the material, then, this study is not quantitative but interpretative.
Taking advantage of computer technology, I intend to present my dissertation in a hypertext format, using a Netscape-based client. This will allow the reader to access maps, plans, drawings, and images of objects in a non-linear fashion from within the text. This approach accords with the aims of this dissertation, which are to de-marginalize and contextualize the Celtic works of art. I intend to take advantage of the excellent image processing and retrieval facilities available on the computer, a prerequisite for which will be my traveling to photograph and, if possible, digitally record the works in their European repositories.
Almost all the objects in this study are three-dimensional works: e.g., arms and armour, wagons, pottery, jewelry. It will be a particular challenge to me to find ways of presenting three-dimensional works in a two-dimensional medium that will allow the viewer to get a better impression of the material and visual qualities of the objects. I am looking into video, computer-aided design, vector analysis and animation for this purpose.
The theoretical ramifications of this new form of presentation are undoubtedly many and profound. In particular, I will present a lengthy and rather complex argument over a large expanse of text which the reader can access in a non-linear fashion. This will challenge me to find ways of making the central argument in spite of my loss of hegemony over the reader's access to it, while at the same time taking advantage of the possibilities opened up thereby for different aspects of my argument to work together in unexpected ways, and perhaps new arguments to arise. My reading in this area is just beginning.
Since my training is in archaeology, rather than in computer technology, I have become a fellow of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities for guidance in solving the two technological and theoretical issues outlined above, and for assistance in achieving the aims of this project.
This prototype version of my dissertation proposal gives an impression, in miniature, of the text links and the type of images I plan to use in the dissertation. The images are currently scanned from published originals; copyright is owned by the publishers. For obvious reasons of quality and copyright law, I intend to replace these and augment them with photographs, and, possibly, videos taken of the objects directly.
I plan to travel to the key collections of Celtic finds in Germany (Berlin, Bonn, Freiburg, Cologne, Mainz, Munich, Saarbrücken, Stuttgart, Trier), Austria (Hallein, Salzburg, Vienna), Belgium (Brussels), Italy (Ancona, Bologna, Torino, Venice), Switzerland (Bern, Fribourg, Lausanne, Zürich), and France (Bourges, Chalon-sur-Saône, Châtillon-sur-Seine, Lyon, Rouen, Saint-Germain-en-Laye). I will arrange in advance to see these collections, as well as those in the British Museum in London, within a short period of time. Eastern European collections (Belgrade, Brno, Bucharest, Budapest, Prague, Sarajevo, Sofia) will be incorporated in my travels as local conditions and my finances permit; the few published finds are generally of the later La Tène period, but since Hallstatt and early La Tène settlement is known in the area, study of the collections should prove illuminating with respect to contact with eastern cultures, and should help fill the lacunae in the spotty publication record.
If time and my funding allows, I will consult those excavation reports, publications and journals that are not available to me in Virginia, or by interlibrary loan, in German libraries in Würzburg, Berlin, Mainz, or the Römisch-Germanische Kommission in Frankfurt.
Updated: February 1995.