Original subtitles

(dramatic music)

In the little town of Lavau

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in the Champagne area,

an archeological excavation

has shed light on the grave of an illustrious character,

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dormant underground for over 2,000 years.

This is an exceptional discovery.

When he was found,

the deceased was surrounded

by a bronze banquet service.

Certain items of Greek and Etruscan origin

had traveled hundreds maybe thousands of kilometers.

The archeologists had discovered a princely tomb

from the era of the Hallstatt Celts,

dating back to the 6th and 5th centuries before Christ.

Such tombs can be found throughout Central Europe.

The burial of important figures of the community

among an abundance of jewels and objects of great value

was a customary tradition in Celtic societies.

(dramatic music)

What of the society that buried its dead with such splendor?

Where did these magnificent objects come from?

How did they get here?

Who were these Hallstatt Celts

and where did their opulence come from?

(suspenseful music)

The Celts were first mentioned in writing by the Greeks.

Indeed, as the Celtic people

did not have a written tradition,

they have left no written testimony of their civilization.

We don't even know the name they gave themselves.

The name Celts was found in the texts of Herodotus,

a Greek historian who was the first to write about them.

Stephane Verger is an archeologist

who specializes in the relations

between the Greeks and Celtic societies.

(speaking in foreign language)

Amongst the travelers

that visited the sanctuary during the 5th century BC

was Herodotus, the first Greek historian.

Herodotus is responsible for the transformation

in the way we understood geography in Europe.

He reestablished the location

of the Hyperboreans to the northeast,

and in their place at the source of the Istros River,

he located a people that we knew nothing about,

the Celts, keltoi in Greek.

There was a well known phrase of his on the subject

which constitutes the first mention of the Celts.

The Istros River begins in the land of the Celts,

near the town of Pyrene,

and crosses Europe through the middle.

The Celts are beyond the pillars of Heracles,

and beside the Cynesians,

the last people of Europe on the side of the setting sun.

The Istros River meets the Pontic Sea

where the Istrians are.

(mystical music)

The Pontic Sea, where Herodotus

situates the Greek settlement of the Istrians,

corresponds to the Black Sea.

The Istros River,

which meets the Black Sea, is now the Danube.

Today if one were to follow the Danube

upstream to the source,

to the place where Herodotus placed the Celts,

one would reach the southwest of Germany.

(gentle music) (birds chirping)

There in the Bade-Wurtemberg,

one can find the site of the Heuneburg.

During the Celtic area,

the plateau was inhabited

and surrounded by imposing graves.

Some homes of the Heuneburg

have been reconstituted by the archeologists.

Dirk Krausse is amongst those

who have worked there many years.

(gentle music)

(birds chirping)

(Dirk speaking in foreign language)

Here below we can see the Danube.

Herodotus mentions in "Book 2" of his "Histories"

that the Istros River,

that is to say the Danube,

has it's source on Celtic land near the city of Pyrene.

This is the first mention ever made of a place

or a city outside the Mediterranean sphere.

Everything seems to indicate that the Heuneburg is Pyrene.

In Lavau, the digs continue.

The deceased was a contemporary of Herodotus's description.

He was found in the center of a necropolis

that was used for thousands of years.

However, none of these graves equal the sumptuousness

of the princely tomb.

They were buried beneath an immense funerary monument

measuring almost a hectare.

(gentle music)

Bastien Dubuis is in charge of the excavation.

At his side is Emilie Millet,

a specialist in metal objects

whose job is to unearth a large bronze cauldron.

(gentle music)

So right now I'm clearing

the fourth handle of the cauldron.

You can see the submittal part of the handle

with Achelous' head, the Greek god of rivers,

with his horns, his mustaches, and his beard.

Each of these segments is decorated with animal faces,

felines, cheetahs, and leopards.

The few fragments

that have already been revealed

testify to the exceptional nature of the object.

The figures of the Achelous god

point to the distant origins of the cauldron,

which was probably made in Etruria or Magna Graecia.

Inside the cauldron,

an object emerges little by little.

It's really quite amazing.

Pieces like this, heightened with gold,

it's really very rare.

This object is called an oinochoe,

a Greek jug that is typical of the Athens region

and is often decorated with well-know Greek myths.

There we are we have the bottom section,

and it's also decorated with gold.

For the archeologist,

the presence of this large cauldron

and of the oinochoe confirm that they are looking at

one of the most sumptuous princely tombs

ever to be discovered.

(birds chirping)

(gentle music)

This grave does indeed

date back to the time of the Hallstatt Celts.

The Hallstatt territory extends to the Alps at the south,

over part of today's France in the west,

up to the Seine and the Loire rivers.

Finally in the east, it reaches the Danube.

The Lavau grave is representative

of what is often called the princely phenomena.

The Hochdorf grave in Germany

already met the qualifications for princely tombs,

the presence of a cart,

of imported pottery from Greece and Italy,

and golden finery mostly made by the Celts themselves.

Then the Vix grave was unearthed

with its large Greek krater and a golden torc,

an incredible piece of jewelry.

(dramatic music)

Let's go back in time.

The startling revelation

of these sumptuous funerary deposits

began in the 19th century.

In 1846, in the Burgundy region,

scholars unearthed the beautiful

Liebes cauldron from Anatole.

A few decades later in Germany near the Heuneburg site,

funerary deposits were discovered

in the grave of the Giessubel-Talhau.

They clearly testified to a very prosperous culture.

German scholars then suggested the idea

of a princely civilization.

Then in 1953,

in the French region of Burgundy,

a Vix grave was discovered.

It contained among other things, a large vase,

one meter 65 high and one meter 20 wide.

It is the largest Greek vase known to mankind.

During almost two centuries of archeological research,

the princely phenomenon has manifested itself

in hundreds of graves.

However, it is the Vix grave, the Hochdorf grave,

and now the Lavau grave

that are considered the most remarkable.

(birds chirping)

(dramatic music)

The Lavau site rests by the river Seine,

70 kilometers downstream of the village of Vix.

It is in this village that the grave

of the Lady of Vix was discovered.

Archeologist Bruno Chaume

has been searching this plateau for over 20 years.

2500 years ago, inhabitants covered the Lassois hill,

and the Lady of Vix was buried in the valley below.

(serene music)

(birds chirping)

We're on the top of the burial mound

of the Lady of Vix.

Underneath our feet was the central grave.

The Lady of Vix was buried

under an important mound,

a tumulus elevated over her grave

in order to mark its place in the landscape.

Surrounded by objects of great value

including the renowned vase of Vix,

she rested upon a cart covered in jewelry and a golden torc.

Princely tombs are often discovered near rivers.

It would seem that these rivers played an important role

in the thriving situation of the Celtic civilization.

The Seine, which flows at the foot of the Mont Lassois,

has it source upstream

and flows towards the Channel 700 kilometers downstream.

This privileged position can easily be linked

to the wealth of the Celts of Vix.

(upbeat music)

Much like the Vix site,

the Heuneburg site in Germany

is perched atop a plateau

that overlooks a river, the Danube.

What part did the river play

in the development of the Celtic city?

(upbeat music)

(speaking in foreign language)

We are at the foot of the Heuneburg.

Here the Danube has already run about 80 kilometers.

It takes its source in the west, in the Black Forest,

and continues over 2500 kilometers towards the southeast

to join the Black Sea where at the time,

there were great colonies.

(upbeat music)

(duck squawking)

The Heuneburg is at an important crossroads

between various rivers snaking through Europe.

To the east, the Danube is used to transport goods

from Western Europe to the Black Sea,

and in return, to import goods from Southern Europe.

To the west, the Rhine opens the way to the Northern Sea,

the Seine to the Channel and the British Isles,

and the northern rivers give access to the Baltic space.

By land, the Alps to the south of the Heuneburg

and, finally, Italy on the other side.

To the southwest, the Rhone leads to the Mediterranean.

For someone looking for a place from which

to control commerce along the Danube,

from north to south and from east to west,

the Heuneburg is the ideal place.

(gentle music)

The top of the plain was full of inhabitants,

textiles, and metallurgy workshops,

and surrounded by prosperous farms.

At its apogee, the Heuneburg's population

is estimated to have reached 5,000,

an exceptional concentration

for the time and for this region.

(cows lowing)

(birds chirping)

(rooster crows)

(sheep bleating)

(cows lowing)

(metal clinking)

Due to the geographical location

and the economic situation of the Heuneburg,

it was very important to control this place

and to secure it.

The fortifications around the Heuneburg

were built for this reason.

He who settled here

and controlled this place of transit

had great power and could accumulate much wealth.

(gentle music)

The development of princely sites

such as the Heuneburg or Mont Lassois

is directly linked to their strategic locations.

Via the rivers, all sorts of materials would come through

as they traveled across Europe.

(upbeat music)

Near the Vix site is a town

by the name of Chatillon-sur-Siene.

There, the wealth of objects in 1953 during the excavation

is kept in the museum of the Chatillonnais country.

Felicie Fougere,

archeologist and conservator of cultural heritage

is the director of the museum.

Also found in the grave was jewelry made of amber,

a fossilized vegetal resin that was

widely sought out during antiquity.

(speaking in foreign language)

Amber was found

in the bracelets that we have here,

bracelets that were worn by the Lady of Vix herself.

It was also found in the shape of large beads

on a necklace that was most probably around her neck.

Amber is a material that is systematically found

in the best endowed graves of the time and even earlier.

It's a material that attracted

the attention of the entire social elite,

contemporaries of the Lady of Vix.

What is notable in a grave such as the one found in Vix

is the presence of amber,

a material that comes from the Baltic Sea,

very far from the region of Burgundy.

This suggests that the material

must've traveled across vast distances.

We can also find fibula,

a type of brooch or safety pin.

Finally, there are even fragments of coral in the fibula

that decorated the torso of the Lady of Vix.

So, the coral is Mediterranean,

we are looking at a trade network

that crossed Europe from the north to the south,

which is absolutely considerable.

This map represents the princely residences.

Archeologists have found amber on all of these sites,

even though amber comes from the coast of the Baltic Sea,

all the way to the north of Europe.

The rivers that lead to Central Europe

begin their journey on these coasts.

From Central Europe and along the Danube,

amber could be scattered all across Europe

as well as throughout the Mediterranean world

via the Black Sea.

Amber has enabled the development

of trade across long distances,

whether from north to south or west to east,

between the various centers of power at the time.

(gentle music)

Although the large krater

remains the main piece of the grave of Vix,

other banquet pottery was found by its side.

This oinochoe of Etruscan origin

was used to collect the beverage

from the krater for the service.

Together with the basin,

both come from Etruria,

surprisingly far from the Mont Lassois,

and are made of a bronze,

a material of capital importance during antiquity.

(Felicie speaking in foreign language)

Bronze can be used for prestigious pottery

such as banquet pottery as we have here,

but, really, it's most important use

in Greek society at the time

was probably in military equipment.

In fact, that's exactly what is illustrated

in the frieze around the neck of this vase

as the characters represented here are Greek soldiers

otherwise known as Hoplites.

They are wearing helmets, breastplates, and greaves

which are shin protectors, all made of bronze.

Hence, the confusion that bronze

was a crucial necessity in the art of war.

(birds chirping) (dramatic music)

The funerary bronze objects

of Mediterranean origin

traveled throughout Europe

during the Hallstatt period,

brought over by merchants

in exchange for goods and services.

Lavau presents many notable examples of this.

By its style and its craft,

archeologist believe that the cauldron

found in a Lavau grave was made in a workshop

in what is now Italy.

The excavation site shows multiple objects

and shards of pottery from various parts of Europe.

(dramatic music)

(Bastien speaking in foreign language)

The presence of imported ceramics,

particularly Etruscan pottery,

is a phenomenon that spread in the 5th century

at a time when the number of pieces imported

and buried in princely tombs quadruples.

(upbeat music)

The very fact that there are a dozen imported

Etruscan objects in the grave dating back to the 5th century

or even further from Greece is a remarkable aspect

already well-known about princely tombs

from the late Hallstatt period.

(upbeat music)

Concerning the metalware, there is true originality

due to the presence of multiple pieces of silverware

which is a very remarkable and rare characteristic.

The precious artifacts were assembled

in this section of the grave.

Thus, we found the oinochoe

with the black figures inside the cauldron.

Certain objects undertook a long journey

before being buried in the grave with the deceased.

The oinochoe contains black figures

that come from the Athens region.

The cauldron with the Achelous heads,

the origin of which are not yet known

was either made in Magna Graecia or in Etruria.

This small jug and bucket called cistus

has Etruscan origins.

Amber found around the neck of the deceased

comes from the Baltic Sea.

The coral that decorates the pins

holding the clothes together

comes from the Mediterranean.

For approximately two centuries,

luxury items including some pieces of artwork

traveled hundreds, maybe thousands of kilometers,

in order to end up in the hands of the Hallstatt elites.

What value did the elites give such objects?

We know that they did not participate in a monetary economy.

The Hallstatt Celts never made use of money.

So, what type of exchanges were they involved in?

(pensive music)

At the National Museum of Archeology

in Saint-Germain-en-Laye,

archeologist Laurent Olivier

is curator of the Iron Age collections.

He is particularly interested

in social relations between Celts.

These two objects

are Mediterranean luxury objects.

Here, you have an object that was made in Etruria.

We call this a stamnos.

It's a large vase, a beverage recipient.

Then there's this small object.

That's a kanthar meaning a drinking cup

with two Attican ceramic handles

that were made in Greece.

We think these were gifts,

gifts that were given by

Mediterranean traders to local patrons

in exchange for exclusivity over certain markets

or access to certain raw materials,

and so to reward them they are given objects that are

of extraordinary value for indigenous people.

To possess such objects, to use them,

is to show one's social status to one's social circle.

It is beyond a unitary object, a luxury object.

It is truly an object of prestige

that travels through the Celtic world.

(upbeat music)

The stamnos and scales

come from the princely tomb of Courcelle

in the Haute-Marne region.

These are imported pieces.

Inside the tomb, there are also objects

of prestige that are made locally,

such as the magnificent objects of gold

found in the tomb of Colombe-sur-Seine.

Circulating in the Celtic world,

these objects are also given

the function of prestige goods

and are attesting to the social status

of those in their possession.

During this period,

the Celts don't use coins as a form of currency.

These objects were not bought.

They were not produced to be sold.

They were gifts.

In these archaic societies,

economies were based on the exchange of gifts.

How did it work?

The powerful accumulated wealth in order to give it away.

By giving, they secured the allegiance

of those who received the items.

These items circulated through the trade networks,

functioned as alliance networks

in order to make friends and allies.

It also creates a subordinate power relation,

a relationship of debt.

The economy is one of gifts and counter-gifts.

Such gifts are never altruistic,

but used to create a link to debt.

(gentle music)

These magnificent objects,

the beauty of which have survived for centuries,

had an important role in establishing

power relations between Celtic tribes.

They also embody a fondness

for garish objects that confirm to all

the importance of their position within the community.

(bright music)

(birds chirping)

A few kilometers away in the basement of the Louvre

is the Center of Research and Restoration of French Museums.

(upbeat music)

The particularity of the Lavau oinochoe

are the gold and silver decorations,

with which it was decorated.

Why did the Celts add these ornaments to the oinochoe,

to repair it, to embellish it, to re-appropriate it?

(pensive music)

The improvement and enhancement

of imported objects are traits that reoccur

frequently in the wealthiest graves.

This customization is particularly common on vases

that were used to distribute beverages.

It was a vase to be shown

as it was passed along between guests.

(gentle music)

In Germany, in the museum

of the land of Wurttemberg in Stuttgart,

other Mediterranean objects can be found

also embellished by the Celts.

Thomas Hoppe is an archeologist

and a curator of the Celtic collections of the museum.

(gentle music)

(speaking in foreign language)

Here we have objects

that were found at Kleinaspergle

where there's a large tumulus near Hohenasperg,

an ancient center of power from the early Celtic era.

There are notable personal objects of interest

such as utensils for beverages,

a large cauldron, and a ribbed bucket.

Nearby, there are drinking vessels,

two magnificent cups from Athens.

What's exciting here is that these two cups

had broken near the close during antiquity,

probably through use.

What is remarkable is that these cups were so valuable

that the local Celtic artisans

had prepared them with gilded sheets

and then decorated them.

In order to repair these cups,

the Celtic artisans were not content

to simply consolidate the object

and attempt to respect its original appearance.

Their gesture goes far beyond.

It consisted of bestowing it with more value and beauty.

In another room of the museum,

there is another Mediterranean object

also repaired by the Celts in an usual way.

(speaking in foreign language)

Here's the renowned lions cauldron

that comes from the Hochdorf grave in Eberdingen.

It's the lion figures in particular

that we're interested in.

It is clear that these artifacts came from Greek workshops.

However, what is even more remarkable is the third lion,

this in a place of a Greek lion that was lost.

It is very different to the Greek lion sculptures.

Its outline and the size of 30 centimeters

are almost identical,

but its style is considerably simplified.

(gentle music)

This means the Celtic artisans have chosen

to reproduce it in their own style.

To them, it would've been just as easy

to create an exact copy of the original,

but they choose to simply the shape.

(gentle music)

The cauldron from Hochdorf contained,

according to the scientists,

300 liters of mead.

As for the immense Vix cauldron,

the biggest in the Celtic world,

it could contain up to 1,100 liters of liquid.

Most scientists agree that it probably contained wine.

(gentle music)

(speaking in foreign language)

Alcohol held an important role

in Celtic society meaning that most probably

to drink alcohol together was to belong

to one and the same community.

The person that organized the banquet

was also the one who distributed the alcohol

and the one who held the power to distribute this alcohol.

(upbeat music) (alcohol pours)

In Hallstattian cultures,

Greek and Etruscan practices were adopted,

but specifically adapted to the requirements of a society.

For instance, the Greek banquet or at least the symposium

where alcohol was consumed was the male banquet.

In the Celtic world,

women participated in banquets alongside men.

(dramatic music)

Thus, women were associated with the banquet

and probably shared in the power.

(upbeat music)

(birds chirping)

Bettina Arnold, archeologist at the

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee,

seeks to understand the ways

in which the gender of individuals

was represented in graves from this period.

Ah, here it is.

Perfect.

(birds chirping)

In Germany, the Hohmichele mounds

contained multiple graves.

Their excavation revealed the presence

of numerous ornamental elements,

both masculine and feminine.

When they excavated this burial mound,

the chamber grave they found,

grave six contained both a male individual

and a female individual.

Again, without skeletal remains,

but with grave goods that can be gender

sort of specifically identified.

(mystical music)

Male burials are identified mainly

on the basis of either weapons or razors.

Weapons, a little more common if they're spears,

very uncommon if they're daggers or swords,

also arrows and quivers are not that frequent.

A little more ambiguous is things

like the placement of jewelry,

so bracelets on only one wrist

or an upper arm ring above the elbow,

particular kinds of materials

are more typically associated with males,

so the fact that there's an iron neck ring

in the male grave here at the Hohmichele

is a good example of that.

Typically, that would not show up in a female grave.

Women's graves are a bit easier

in the sense that they're more likely to show up

because they have a lot more jewelry.

They're wearing elaborate headdresses,

enormous belts with staple decorations,

bracelets on both arms, lots and lots of beads.

Other markers for female graves include

symmetrical distribution of jewelry,

so if you have bracelets on both wrists,

you've got hair or earrings,

pins associated with a veil or some type of head covering,

definitively female.

The same thing is true for ankle rings,

which never show up in male graves.

(dramatic music)

(birds chirping)

Traces of Celtic graves

still mark the Cantal landscapes.

Archeologist Pierre-Yves Milicent

has excavated a certain number of these graves.

(speaking in foreign language)

While excavating these monuments,

we often realize that the central grave,

the one around which the others are organized,

is generally a woman's grave.

(dramatic music)

The female princely tombs

contain furnishings that in many ways

are very similar to the male princely tombs.

Elements of adornment,

heavy gold ones in particular,

mark the eminent status of these individuals.

In these Hallstattian princely tombs,

there is a hierarchy of sorts according to wealth.

(dramatic music)

But amongst the richest tombs,

there is only one that sticks out,

the grave of the Lady of Vix.

And in this grave,

the most emblematic object

is the immense bronze krater.

There are characters

that go all the way around the crater.

Then we can see that they prepare to go to war.

To a Hallstattian observer,

it was reasonable to think that these figurations

could be interpreted as the mark of a relationship

of submission between the troops that went to war

and the female statue that is clearly place higher

and seemed to dominate the departure to war.

Basically, the Vix krater could very easily be understood

as the fact that the Lady of Vix, through this figure,

could preside over the departures to war

which means that she could make political decisions

that were enormous, particularly the power to declare war,

or on the contrary, make peace with the enemy.

(dramatic music)

In many ways, instead of speaking of the Lady of Vix,

we could say the Queen of Vix.

The Lady of Vix or the Queen of Vix.

Although, history hasn't recorded

the name of this illustrious woman,

her grave testifies to the power that she enjoyed

within her community of Mont Lassois.

(birds chirping)

But how vast was this community?

How far did it extend over Mont Lassois and the Seine?

The height of the plateau

has been the subject of long excavations.

They revealed numerous traces of buildings,

a large community must've lived here.

The Mont Lassois has a surface

of approximately 45 hectares within the city wall.

The upper plateau we're on has a surface of five hectares.

The most remarkable building on the plateau

is within the greatest enclosure.

It was identified as the palace of the Lady of Vix.

(dirt crumbling)

The first zone to be excavated was that of the apse.

The objects found there were fragments of ceramic jugs,

these jugs were used to cull liquid from a larger vase.

It is possible to imagine that the large vase

was also in the apse.

The palace of the Lady of Vix is a unique building.

It is 35 meters long, 22 meters wide,

and its height is estimated around 15 to 20 meters.

This represents a four-story building.

Certain rooms are 500 square meters

and it is possible to imagine that they could hold

two to 300 people at a time.

(dramatic music)

Around the Lady of Vix's palace,

many houses were built,

each enclosed by fences that created private spaces.

(birds chirping)

As with the Heuneburg,

it would seem this plateau was also vastly populated.

(dramatic music)

The Vix dwellings were strategically placed up high

and surrounded by a complex system of fortified walls.

Thomas Pertiweiser and his team at the University of Vienna

are attempting to visualize the entire system

that protected the heights of the plateau.

(tools scraping)

(Thomas speaking in foreign language)

Here, we are in front of

one of the city walls of the Mont Lassois.

At the time, these fortifications

all had one thing in common,

they were monumental.

When we observe other structures on the Mont Lassois,

as the apse houses or the chimney,

we can understand the monumental aspect

is an architectural feature.

These fortifications were monumental.

They were enormous.

(dramatic music)

What we have here is a system of fortification

composed of a double line of defense

that as a whole measures several kilometers long.

These walls surround the Mont Lassois

and represent an enormous fortress facing the Seine.

(dramatic music)

By their monumental nature,

their appearance, their architecture,

these fortifications project a certain image

to the outside world.

Here is an example of a demonstration of power

where wealth is proclaimed.

These monumental walls

that surrounded the Mont Lassois,

were intended to extend into the landscape

in a forceful manner

in order to instill fear in potential enemies,

but also in the people over which the Lady of Vix ruled.

(birds chirping)

(gentle music)

In Lavau, the excavation is nearing its end.

In order to determine the gender of the deceased,

it was necessary to make the distinction

between decorum, objects, and jewelry,

some of which suggest it was a woman.

On the other hand,

preliminary observations of the skeleton itself

suggest it was a man.

The archeologists in Lavau made their decision.

It was in fact a man.

The wealth of objects assembled in the grave

are proof that the deceased was an important individual.

(dramatic music)

Such a setup could only be an indication

of great power and great wealth.

The people in the territory

on which the prince of Lavau ruled

was probably very vast and reinforced his power.

(upbeat music)

In the Heuneburg,

the plateau in which the main dwellings lay

dominates the landscape majestically.

How far did the territories

on which he exercised power extend?

(upbeat music)

(speaking in foreign language)

The Heuneburg was a very impressive site

during the 6th century BC with its silk brick walls

coated in bright white.

It certainly made a lasting impression

on the surrounding populations.

Today, we know that surrounding the Heuneburg,

many housing locations fortified

and placed at high altitudes,

tumuli were scattered along the Danube.

I could demonstrate here, look.

The Danube is here.

The Heuneburg is there.

All around there's a great quantity

of other excavation sites, graves, and villages.

(pensive music)

The site known as Alte Burg

is on top of a plateau in the middle of a forest,

eight kilometers northwest of the Heuneburg.

(birds chirping)

(gentle music)

The Alte Burg is an enigmatic place.

The stone remains do not correspond

to these types of dwellings.

The function of this structure,

unique in the Celtic world,

has given birth to a singular hypothesis.

This location could've housed a place of worship,

a sort of sanctuary.

(crowd shouting)

(dramatic music)

On a clear day, the plateau of Alte Burg

was visible from the Heuneburg.

The connection between the two sites seems to make sense.

Vix, Lavau, the Heuneburg, and many others,

princely sites were not confined to their main habitat,

instead they extended far beyond,

but their reign would not last much longer.

(birds chirping)

(Dirk speaking in foreign language)

The Heuneburg was burned down,

and perhaps, it's not a coincidence if in 530 BC,

the Hohenasperg, the main princely site in the north

had its golden age.

Certain researchers have interpreted this

as the concurrence between two princely centers

that ended in the Hohenasperg attacking the Heuneburg.

Which soon yielded.

(gentle music)

The Heuneburg rose from its ashes

for a brief time.

However, in the mid-5th century BC,

another devastating fire provoked the total desertion

of the plateau and its surroundings.

What's extraordinary is that simultaneously

the other princely sites undergo an analogous destiny,

this sudden decline marks the end

of the Celtic principality phenomenon.

We do not know the reasons for this collapse,

but it is possible that the development

of the circulation of Greek and Etruscan commerce

on the Mediterranean isolated inland principalities

from the great commercial and cultural routes,

precipitating their demise.

(birds chirping)

(speaking in foreign language)

The disappearance of these great houses

at the end of the early Iron Age

corresponds to the subsiding of social hierarchies

and rupture of a system that was relatively pyramidal,

relatively vertical.

(gentle music)

In Vix, similar to the Heuneburg, in fact,

there are buildings that caught fire

as well as fortifications that were destroyed by the fire,

but in Vix, unlike the Heuneburg,

an additional element comes into play,

the violent destruction of the statues

that represent two elites of the population,

a woman, probably the Lady of Vix, and one soldier.

These statues were beheaded.

It was an attempt to erase the elites

that represented the reigning dynasty

from the landscape and from the collective memory.

(dramatic music)

(speaking in foreign language)

From the second half of the 6th century,

new centers emerge in the Western Mediterranean.

They develop and establish new trade networks,

trade networks that aren't necessarily

compatible with those of the 6th century,

those that enabled luxury goods

to travel to Central Europe.

That is to say

there are no more Greek imports,

no more Etruscan imports, and in a sense,

we have a society that turns its back on a system

that used to be very open towards the Mediterranean.

So, I think that the end of Mediterranean imports

is also indicative of the change in social values.

This is a society that is isolating itself.

(dramatic music)

The Lavau grave marks the transition

between two types of societies, of cultures.

(dramatic music)

(birds chirping)

Here we see a transition from a society

in which prestige is celebrated with ceremonies and banquets

to one that gives importance to the military aspects

of aristocratic life and to war in general.

This system of values is one which existed

during the early Hallstatt period.

It's as though we are closing the circle in a way,

and we return to societies

that are slightly more traditional.

An entire experience, that of the Hallstatt,

is brushed aside without a future in sight.

(gentle music)

(birds chirping)

Now, the prince of Lavau

is part of our culture, of our history,

with equal standing to the Lady of Vix,

and we could even wonder if they ever met.

25,000 years ago

in the small village of Lavau,

a powerful individual was sumptuously buried by his people.

Deposed on a cart accompanied by banquet pottery

and a cauldron full of alcohol,

all objects of considerable value,

chosen with care, lavishly dressed,

and decorated with finely crafted gold and jewels.

He was laid majestically among the possessions

that would follow him into the next life.

(dramatic music)

The Hallstatt Celts created great and prosperous cities,

traded with all the peoples of Europe

as well as the Greeks and the Etruscans.

They crafted sumptuous objects in gold

and gave women an important place in society.

They built a flourishing civilization,

the ruins of which on occasion are unearthed

for our boundless admiration.

They left behind an image of a powerful people,

precursors of our own cities.

The real reasons for their demise

will remain a mystery forever.

(dramatic music)