Hello, my name's Mrs. Casey.

What's your name? I'm so excited to be joining you for this history lesson today.

Today's lesson is called Celtic Art, the Snettisham Great Torc and the Battersea Shield.

It is part of the unit, Iron Age Britain.

What have historians learned about Iron Age Britain? So this lesson is all about artwork.

Do you like art? There's lots of different types of artwork, from painting to pottery to metal work, and lots of different ways of expressing yourself.

There are lots of different styles of art as well.

So today we're looking at art from the Iron Age.

Are you ready? Let's get started.

By the end of the lesson, you'll be able to describe some of the features of Celtic La Tene art.

La Tene is a style of Celtic art that we'll find out about during the lesson.

Here are some of the key words we'll be using during today's lesson.

Celts.

The Celts were a group of Iron Age people in Europe who shared similar languages and culture.

La Tene, a popular later style of Celtic art, which used curves, swirls, and leafy patterns is called La Tene.

Torc.

A torc is a large, solid ring, worn around the neck.

It's a piece of jewellery.

We'll be using these words throughout our lesson.

You can look out for them.

Celts, La Tene, torc.

So today's lesson, Celtic art, the Snettisham Great Torc and the Battersea Shield, has three parts.

We'll start with Celtic art, and move on to looking at the Snettisham Great Torc.

And finally, the Battersea Shield.

Let's get started with the first section, Celtic art.

Over 2000 years ago, during the Iron Age, the Celts lived in Britain, and across parts of Europe.

The Celts were tribes that lived in small settlements and farmed the land.

They lived in roundhouses made from wattle and daub.

Here is a photograph of a reconstruction of a Celtic settlement.

Can you see the roundhouses? The style of Celtic art is very easy to recognise.

It has lots of spirals, swirls, and circles.

There are not any straight line patterns.

Lots of tri-spirals, like in this photograph here, three spirals together, and Celtic knots like in this necklace, are common in Celtic artwork.

A popular style of Celtic artwork, which uses curves, swirls, and leafy patterns is called La Tene.

That was one of our key words.

Do you remember? The La Tene style was used in lots of examples of metal work created by the Celts, such as jewellery and shields.

Here are two examples, a photograph of a shield in the La Tene style.

Can you see all the leafy patterns and spirals? And we also have a photograph of a belt buckle in a La Tene style, again using those swirly, spirally patterns.

It's a style of art that started in Switzerland and it spread throughout Europe as the Celts moved across Europe to live and into Britain.

Excellent listening, everyone.

Well done.

Let's check what we've learned so far.

Which of the following items are decorated in the Celtic La Tene style? A, the photo of the shield with a swirl pattern, B, a photo of a different shield with another swirl pattern, C, photo of this shield with straight lines.

Pause the video to talk to your partner about which of these shields are in the Celtic La Tene style.

Well done.

Shields A and B are in the La Tene style.

They have swirly patterns.

Straight lines like on this shield in picture C, didn't feature in the La Tene style.

And here is another check.

Which of the following features in the Celtic La Tene style of art? Circles, spirals, straight lines, leafy patterns.

Pause the video to decide which of the following feature in the Celtic La Tene style.

Circles featured in the Celtic La Tene style of art, spirals feature, straight lines do not feature, leafy patterns are a feature of Celtic La Tene art.

And now it's time for our first task.

Laura and Jacob are talking about Celtic art.

Who do you agree with? Discuss your ideas with a partner.

Jacob says, "There are no straight lines in Celtic art".

Laura's response, "Celtic art only uses spirals".

Do you agree with Jacob? Do you agree with Laura? Pause the video and have a chat about it.

Jacob is correct that Celtic art does not feature straight lines.

Laura is correct that Celtic art uses spirals.

But it's not just spirals, circles, swirls, geometric patterns and leaf patterns are also features of Celtic art.

Great work everyone.

We finished the first section of our lesson today.

Let's move on and find out about the Snettisham Great Torc.

Historians and archaeologists use artefacts.

Those are items that were made by humans in the past, to learn about the past.

There are several Celtic artefacts of significant interest that have been discovered, that tell us about Celtic art, such as the Snettisham Great Torc and the Battersea Shield.

Here is a photograph of archaeologists at work.

Can you see them digging for artefacts in the ground? Fantastic listening, everyone.

Let's check what we've learned so far.

Which two of these are examples of Celtic art artefacts? Pause the video and have a talk with your partner.

Fantastic.

The Battersea Shield and the Snettisham Great Torc are both examples of Celtic art artefacts.

They both feature spirals and leafy spiral patterns.

A torc is a metal ring with decorative ends called terminals.

The Snettisham Great Torc is a very special decorative piece of artwork.

It dates back to the Iron Age, making it over 2000 years old.

This artefact shows that Celtic metal workers had great craftsmanship.

It highlights that the Celts were interested in art and design.

Today it is kept in a museum.

It is made from a gold alloy, that's a mixture of metals.

It has eight pieces of metal rope twisted together, and each piece of the metal rope is made from eight threads.

The terminals have been made in a cast and welded to the rope.

The torc is very heavy and weighs over one kilogramme.

Can you imagine wearing something that heavy around your neck? Let's check what we've learned so far.

Which of the following students is describing the Snettisham Great Torc? Alex says, "It is a piece of Iron Age jewellery made from gold alloy.

It has eight metal ropes that are twisted together and decorative terminals on the ends".

Sam says, "This Iron Age artefact was found in the Thames River in London.

It has no signs of being used in a battle".

Do you think Alex or Sam are talking about the Snettisham Great Torc? Pause the video and tell your partner.

Well done.

It was Alex that was describing Snettisham Great Torc.

The Snettisham Great Torc was found one ordinary day in 1950 when a farmer was ploughing his field near the village of Snettisham in Norfolk, England.

He found a piece of metal, and it became apparent he had discovered an Iron Age hoard.

Hoards are collections of metal items found buried in the ground.

Archaeologists are unsure why the Celts buried hoards.

Many hordes have been discovered across Britain and Europe.

Here is a photo of an Iron Age hoard found at Snettisham.

You can see there's lots of different artefacts, all made from metal.

Archaeologists believe that men and women would've worn torcs.

These beautiful pieces of jewellery have been found in the graves of both men and women over Europe.

However, in Britain, they have only been discovered in hoards with other metal items such as coins, swords, and bracelets.

Some torcs have been discovered that are so heavy they would've probably been too big to wear.

Super listening, everyone.

Let's check what we've learned.

Identify whether each statement is true or false.

Indicate your answers with a tick true, or a cross for false.

Listen carefully as I read the statements to you.

A, the Snettisham Great Torc was made in the 1950s.

B, the Snettisham Great Torc was part of a hoard.

C, the Snettisham Great Torc was found by a farmer.

D, torcs were jewellery worn by Celtic men and women in the Iron Age.

Pause the video and decide which statements are true and which ones are false.

Well done everyone.

Statement A was false.

The Snettisham Great Torc was not made in the 1950s, it was made in the Iron Age over 2000 years ago, but it was found in the 1950s.

The Snettisham Great Torc was part of a hoard.

That's correct.

Can you remember a hoard is a collection of metal items? The torc was found by a farmer whilst he was ploughing his field.

That's correct.

Torcs were jewellery worn by Celtic men and women in the Iron Age.

That's correct too.

Did you get them all right? Great job everyone, well done.

Now it's time for our second task.

Can you remember we said the Snettisham Great Torc was now stored in a museum? Can you write a label for this object so it can be displayed in a museum? It is made from.

It is dated to.

It was found.

It was used for.

It shows archaeologists that.

Use the sentence stems to help you write the label.

Pause the video and have a go.

Well done, everyone.

Your labels might look something like this one.

This is the Snettisham Great Torc.

It's made from a gold alloy.

It is dated to the Iron Age.

It was found in 1950 by a farmer ploughing his field near a village called Snettisham in Norfolk, England.

It was used for jewellery by the Celts.

It shows archaeologists that the Celts were interested in art and design and were skilled craftspeople.

Here we are at the third section of our lesson today, the Battersea Shield.

I can't wait to find out about this artefact, can you? Let's get started.

In 1857, workers building a bridge over the Thames River in a part of London called Battersea.

They dredged up something remarkable from the river.

It was part of a Celtic shield.

The Battersea Shield, as it was called, is a metal cover that would've been on the front of a wooden shield.

It is made from sheets of bronze.

It weighs about 34 kilogrammes.

It's approximately 77 centimetres long.

The shield cover is very beautiful and detailed.

It is decorated in the La Tene Celtic style.

It has three circular designs created with metal swirls in relief.

Relief means it stands out, in a 3D effect.

Can you see the three circles on the shield in the photograph? The shield was decorated with 27 red glass beads.

It was dated back to the Iron Age, making it over 2000 years old.

Fantastic listening, everyone.

Let's check what we've learned so far.

Here is a true or false.

The Battersea Shield is decorated in the La Tene Celtic design, true or false? That's true.

Is it true because the Battersea Shield has three circular swirly patterns and no straight lines? Or is it true because the Battersea Shield is decorated with sharp straight lines? Which statement justifies our answer, A or B? Well done everyone, A.

The Battersea Shield has three circular swirly patterns and no straight lines, which are typical features of the La Tene Celtic style.

Many other Celtic weapons were also found in the River Thames, but the Battersea Shield is the most famous.

It is well known for its beautiful detailed pattern and artistic design.

Some archaeologists and historians wonder if the part of the river where the shield was found was the sight of a battle, because so many weapons have been found there.

However, the shield shows no signs of being in a battle.

It's not damaged in any way, and doesn't appear to have been used.

It's also very thin and very small, so wouldn't have offered much protection as a shield.

Other archaeologists believe that the Celts deliberately buried precious items and weapons due to religious beliefs, or as part of an offering to their gods.

They might have buried them in water or wet places such as rivers and bogs, due to religious beliefs and as part of religious ceremonies.

Excellent listening.

Let's check what we've learned.

Can you describe the Battersea Shield to your partner? Here are some questions to help you.

What did the shield look like? Where was it found? What time period is it from? What was it made from? And what was it for? You can also use the photograph of the Battersea Shield here to help you.

Pause the video and tell your partner all about the Battersea Shield.

Well done, everyone, great discussions.

Your answer might have included something like this.

The Battersea Shield is decorated in the La Tene Celtic style.

It has three circles and a swirl pattern.

There are 27 glass beads.

It was found in the River Thames in London, during the construction of a bridge.

It's from the Iron Age, and made from bronze.

Archaeologists believe it was an offering to the gods as it was too small and thin to have been used in a battle.

What do you think? Now it's time for our third and final task of today's lesson.

Label the photograph of the Battersea Shield.

Here are some words you can use.

La Tene style, circle, red glass beads, shield cover, spiral, swirl, bronze.

Pause the video and have a go at labelling the photograph.

Well done, everyone.

You could have included, there are 27 red glass beads, the shield is decorated in the La Tene style, the shield features spirals and swirls, the shield cover has three circles, this is a shield cover that would have been on a wooden shield, it is made from bronze.

Excellent work, everyone.

We are coming to the end of our lesson.

Let's summarise what we have learned about Celtic art.

Art was very important to the Celts, a group of people who lived in the Iron Age in small settlements.

They a large number of metal objects, in a style known as La Tene.

The Snettisham Great Torc is an example of impressive craftsmanship from the Iron Age Celts.

The bronze Battersea Shield shows the swirling patterns of La Tene.

Archaeologists believe the Battersea Shield and the Snettisham Great Torc were offerings to the gods as part of religious beliefs.

Well done, everyone.

Great work in today's lesson.

I'm looking forward to our next lesson on the Iron Age.

Bye for now.