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The bronze age and the Celtic world - Universal History Library

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A RECAPITULATION 131<br />

valley, crossed <strong>the</strong> Predil pass. Some of <strong>the</strong>se stayed for a time at Santa Lucia Tolmino,<br />

in <strong>the</strong> Isonzo valley, while <strong>the</strong> majority proceeded to Cividale in <strong>the</strong> Friuh plain. <strong>The</strong>y<br />

passed on rapidly to <strong>the</strong> Po valley, <strong>and</strong> destroyed <strong>the</strong> vill<strong>age</strong>s of <strong>the</strong> Terramara-folk<br />

who Uved <strong>the</strong>re, expelling <strong>the</strong> inhabitants as seems to have been <strong>the</strong> invariable custom of<br />

<strong>the</strong>se men of blood <strong>and</strong> iron.^ <strong>The</strong> Terramara-folk fled, some to Etruria, o<strong>the</strong>rs to Taranto<br />

<strong>and</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs again to Rome, where <strong>the</strong>y built a dry terramara on <strong>the</strong> Palatine Hill.^ <strong>The</strong><br />

iron sword people passed on <strong>and</strong> settled at <strong>the</strong> foot of <strong>the</strong> Apennines, with <strong>the</strong>ir centre<br />

at Bologna, introducing into all <strong>the</strong> region north-east of <strong>the</strong> mountains <strong>the</strong> culture<br />

known to archaeologists as that of Villa-nova.'<br />

As we have seen in Chapter IV., <strong>the</strong> Etruscans had been for some httle time<br />

settled in Tuscany, where <strong>the</strong>y had estabhshed <strong>the</strong>ir trading cities governed by rehgious<br />

magistrates. Before long <strong>the</strong>se Etruscan Prospectors found <strong>the</strong>mselves face to face<br />

with this newly-arrived war-hke people. I have already given my reasons for thinking<br />

that <strong>the</strong> ViUa-nova folk conquered <strong>the</strong> Etruscans, <strong>and</strong> that toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong>y extended <strong>the</strong>ir<br />

empire, which is said to have reached to Pompeii. <strong>The</strong>y perhaps succeeded in pressing<br />

back <strong>the</strong> leaf-shaped sword people from <strong>the</strong> neighbourhood of Lake Trasimene, but<br />

did not apparently succeed at first in dislodging <strong>the</strong>m from <strong>the</strong> valley of <strong>the</strong> Velino.<br />

Thus we see that <strong>the</strong> leaf-shaped sword folk, mainly <strong>the</strong> people of <strong>the</strong> mountain<br />

zone, have at one time or ano<strong>the</strong>r invaded <strong>and</strong> in some way or ano<strong>the</strong>r conquered nearly<br />

aU Europe except <strong>the</strong> Iberian peninsula, while at <strong>the</strong> close of <strong>the</strong> <strong>bronze</strong> <strong>age</strong> <strong>the</strong>y<br />

arrived as refugees in <strong>Celtic</strong> l<strong>and</strong>s. <strong>The</strong> iron sword folk, <strong>the</strong> people of <strong>the</strong> plain, who<br />

had learned <strong>the</strong> use of iron in <strong>the</strong> Koban, followed <strong>the</strong>m, making a complete conquest<br />

of Greece, of Italy north of <strong>the</strong> Apennines, of France all but <strong>the</strong> west <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Seine<br />

vaUey, Belgium <strong>and</strong> perhaps o<strong>the</strong>r regions fur<strong>the</strong>r north. <strong>The</strong>se people did not conquer<br />

Sc<strong>and</strong>inavia, nor did <strong>the</strong>y reach Britain, at any rate until several more centuries had<br />

elapsed.<br />

7 Modestov (1907) 217 ; D6chelette (1908-14) ii. 529-540.<br />

8 Hooton (1913).<br />

9 D^chelette (1908-14) ii. 529-540 ; Modestov (1907) ch. viii.

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