La Tène

Prehistoric settlement at the east end of Lake Neuchâtel, Switzerland, which has given its name to a culture of the Iron Age dating from the 5th century BC to the Roman conquest.

The site was probably the crossing point of a river, no longer in existence, for most of the finds are associated with a wooden structure thought to be a bridge. The richness of metalwork found, in particular the swords and weapons, and a new style of decorative art recognized as the first Celtic art distinguish the culture, but little else changed from the preceding Hallstatt period.

Sites demonstrating the La Tène culture include the lake dwellings of Glastonbury, Somerset.

La Tène decorative art
La Tène is a style name for a particular art form associated with the Celts. Its appearance in Western Europe in the 5th century BC is regarded as the first definite Celtic art, rather than a style imitative of other influences. However, its frequently fantastic imagery often includes the translation of classical and Oriental motifs into the new decoration, which moved away from late Hallstatt art. It was a style related in its earliest forms to the movement of Celtic peoples and trade with the Mediterranean and East, and to the conspicuous consumption of the chiefs. Later La Tène is more reflective of the move away from centralized and hierarchical societies to rural centres, with distinctive styles often characteristic of plant forms.