Celtiberians

The Celtiberians were a group of peoples living in the central‑eastern Iberian Peninsula during the Iron Age and the early Roman period. They emerged from the fusion of indigenous Iberian tribes with Celtic migrants who arrived from central Europe between the 6th and 4th centuries BC. The resulting culture combined Celtic language and social structures with Iberian artistic motifs and settlement patterns.

Geographically, Celtiberian settlements stretched across the high plateaus of modern‑day Castile‑La Mancha, Aragon, and parts of Catalonia. Their towns, often fortified hill‑tops called oppida, featured stone walls, rectangular houses, and communal granaries. Prominent centers included Numantia, Uxama, and Segóbriga. Archaeological finds such as bronze swords, torcs, and intricately patterned pottery illustrate a warrior‑oriented society with a strong emphasis on tribal identity.

The Celtiberian language belonged to the Continental Celtic branch and is known from a limited corpus of inscriptions on stone, metal, and pottery. While the script derives from the Iberian writing system, the underlying language displays Celtic phonology and vocabulary, confirming the hybrid nature of the culture.

Celtiberian tribes, such as the Arevaci, Lusones, and Pellendones, frequently resisted external domination. Their most famous confrontation with Rome was the Numantine War (143–133 BC), during which the city of Numantia endured a prolonged siege before falling to Scipio Aemilianus. Subsequent Roman campaigns integrated the region into the province of Hispania Citerior, and over the following centuries the Celtiberian peoples were gradually Romanized, adopting Latin language and Roman civic institutions.

Despite assimilation, Celtiberian cultural elements persisted in local folklore, place‑names, and religious practices, leaving a lasting imprint on the historical identity of central Spain.