Smiths of the Iron Age: Skilled "Sorcerers?"

How can a blacksmith be seen as a sorcerer?

The Iron Age Celts straddle the period between "pre-history" and "history" in regards to written sources. During this time period, the ability to transform unremarkable lumps of metal into fantastic works of art and war was likely viewed as something magical or even miraculous. Thus, the smith might have been seen as liminal member of Celtic society. Derived from Latin "limen," "threshold," liminal refers to the state of being neither here nor there. Celtic smiths were probably not considered members of the ruling elites, but because of the remarkable items they produced, they would not have been regarded as "common" members of society.

Drawing from later Celtic and early Norse sources, it is likely that the smiths of the Iron Age would have been regarded as sorcerers, priests, or perhaps individuals favored by the gods. This is in part due to their ability to transform metals into various shapes and objects as well as the sacredness of the materials they used. Wood and trees were considered special or even sacred materials as evidenced by their restricted use. For example, archaeologists encounter the "old wood problem" in excavating and analyzing Iron Age burial mounds. The "old wood problem" refers to how the wood found in some Celtic tumuli (burial mounds) was reused from earlier structures and thus skews the dating of the burial. In other words, the wood used in the burial mound is often older than the construction of the burial itself. Celtic burial mounds are typically built in several stages: the first being the construction of a large wooden "box" to house the body of the deceased and their grave goods. Second, this central chamber is "roofed" over. Finally, the whole thing is covered over with a high volume of dirt.

The interior of the Hochdorf burial mound in Germany

It is thought that in Celtic society trees and nature had significance, possibly even religious/spiritual connotations. Various trees were seen to have different meanings, many of which have been lost to time. The oak was often seen as a prominent symbol and a highly sought-after hardwood. Like modern blacksmiths, ancient smiths would have preferred hardwood as the charcoal for their forges because of its low smoke rate and high concentration of heat. Smiths are able to control fire and harness its transformative qualities to change unassuming lumps of metal ore into fantastic objects - this process may have been viewed as magical and thus the smiths as a kind of sorcerer or priest.

A forge's fire

Iron Age golden hair-pin heads

The basis of our approach to this subject comes from the work of anthropologist Alfred Gell. Gell’s book Art and Agency invites us to step back and approach the question of artists and agency from an anthropological theory of art. Approaching this question first from the angle of the material index, that is, the “visible, physical ‘thing,’” Gell applies the notion of “the abduction of agency,” arguing that the material index, as the product of manufacture, functions as the outcome or instrument of social agency (Gell 1998:13-15). Abduction is from the Latin abducere, literally meaning “to draw out from.” Critically, the abduction of agency from the index is the drawing out of the artist’s agency from the artifact they made, whether or not the artist left any clues as to their identity.

Gell's central idea is the notion of the "technology of enchantment" - “[t]he technology of enchantment is founded on the notion of the enchantment of technology. The enchantment of [art as] technology is the power that technical processes have of casting a spell over us” (Gell 1994:44). Such art objects are displays of artistry explainable in magical terms; the artist or maker

effectively becomes an “occult technician.” When a viewer stands before an object such as the Gundestrup cauldron they cannot help but marvel at the “technical miracle” before them – “it is

miraculous because it is achieved both by human agency but at the same time by an agency which transcends [that of the] spectator” (Gell 1994:49). The makers and owners

of these objects thus have access to magical (Otherworldly?) powers.

The Cernunnos panel from the Gundestrup cauldron