The Celtiberian Oppida and ‘city-states’

Abstract

The first Celtiberian oppida or cities arise after the ‘Early Iberian period crisis’. These oppida assembled the population of the settlements that had disappeared during the 5th century BC. The knowledge we have about these cities increases after the Roman penetration by Graco (179 BC); the oppida are mentioned in classic literature and in Celtiberian documents, mainly tessera and coins. Furthermore, several cities have been identified with archaeological sites. Celtiberian oppida follow the Mediterranean city-state political model. Most of the population was based in rural areas, so the cities were small settlements: Numantia reached 7.6 Ha and only Segeda had larger dimensions as a consequence of synecism (42 Ha of which 17 were inhabited). The documented “wealth” of the Celtiberian society was not publicly shown, neither in form of public buildings or sumptuous burials. There was no opposition between rural areas and the city, but both the peasantry and the landlords living in hamlets and oppida.