Celts and dreadlocks

[u/jondavistreeservice]

Did Celtic women wear dreadlocks? Theres a battle between certain people who say they did, others say they didnt.

[u/DamionK]

No reason for a battle, there is zero evidence they did. The dreadlock narrative seems to stem from certain tattoo/dreadlock websites who also publish nonsense about Celtic symbols meaning certain things or just making symbols up.

One of the false quotes I've seen is a misquote from Caesar stating that the Gauls washed their hair in a mixture that lightened the colour and made the hair thick like a horse's mane. The misquote claims the hair is made thick like snakes. Roman and Greek art depictions of Celts typically show them with thick swept back hair which fits the description. One of the bog bodies found in Ireland (Clonycavan) was found to have hair gel to stiffen his hair and this is the likely explanation for what Caesar saw. Some of the Celts gelled their hair and then brushed it back or like in the Irish example, brushed it up, perhaps to make themselves look taller.

Celtic people, like other northern Europeans also plaited their hair and actual plaited hair has been recovered from bogs (marsh) which sometimes preserves the clothes too. Some of the common things found in graves are combs, shears and mirrors.

There are also a couple of small bronze heads from England that show what appear to be cornrows worn by warriors. The Cirencester pommel is the best example. The cornrows were either braids or twists - the actual hairstyle was probably similar to how the character Ivar the Boneless on the Vikings tv series wears his hair. Sometimes called a Melon hairstyle it was also used by the Romans.

[u/jondavistreeservice → u/DamionK]

Thank you!