Celtic graves celebrated the life of the deceased, they also pointed forward, they signaled the ambitions of the family of the deceased, and their hopes for a successful and happy afterlife. Scholars have suggested that many of the goods placed within the grave also signified the roles the deceased had played within their community during his or her life, giving us some insight into how Celtic cultures may have functioned. Thereby, grave goods have been divided into strict categories which refer to a person's place within the community as its was believed to have been dictated by their gender, age and perceived social status. This exhibition will focus on these distinct categories, which are listed below, in order to demonstrate that they are not so clearly defined or delineated. Types of grave goods said to be gender or class specific, and believed to be demonstrative of a particular category, can similarly be found in another.
Celtic grave
goods have been used to define Celtic gender and class as strict and static.
This exhibition is designed to illustrate, according to Celtic graves, which
are believed to be reflections of larger Celtic communities, that these patterns
do not hold true. The repetition found among these groups will help us to reconsider
and redefine our conceptions of Celtic gender and social status, highlighting
the complexity of Celtic cultures as they have been understood and also misunderstood.