page_title: Celts in Transylvania
section_title: 2nd–1st century BC
hierarchical_section_title: Celts in Transylvania / History / 2nd–1st century BC
caption_attribution_description: Map showing various movements and settlements of the Boii
context_page_description: The appearance of Celts in Transylvania can be traced to the later La Tène period.
  Excavation of the great La Tène necropolis at Apahida, Cluj County, by S. Kovacs at the turn of the 20th century revealed the first evidence of Celtic culture in Romania. The 3rd–2nd century BC site is remarkable for its cremation burials and chiefly wheel-made funeral vessels.
  A historical timeline of the Celts of Transylvania can be derived from archaeological finds at La Tène, but there are almost no ancient records that allow reconstruction of political events in the area. The Celts exercised politico-military rule over Transylvania between the 4th and 2nd century BC and brought with them a more advanced iron-working technology. They were also responsible for the spread of the potter's wheel into a much wider area than the one they occupied.
context_section_description: During the first half of the 2nd century BC, Pompeius Trogus writes in his Historiae Philippicae of a Dacian king, Oroles, who fought against Celtic incursions. Oroles is recorded as resisting the intrusion of the Bastarnae, a people now generally considered to be of Germanic origin but who were in fact Celto-Germanic and, according to Livy, spoke a Celtic language. The Bastarnae moved from Silesia into what is now central and northern Moldavia.
  Pompeius Trogus along with Justin also record the rise in Dacian authority prior to 168 BC under the leadership of King Rubobostes.
  Around 150 BC, La Tène material disappears from the area. This is concurrent with ancient writings, which mention the rise of Dacian authority. This ended Celtic domination and it is possible that the Celts were forced out of Dacia. On the other hand, some scholars have posited that the Transylvanian Celts remained but merged with the local culture and thereafter ceased to be distinctive.
  The boundary between the Celts and Dacians near the River Tisa is depicted in 2nd century BC pottery found at Pecica in Arad County, a prosperous trading center at the confluence of the two peoples.
caption: Migratory movements of the Celtic Boii
exif: {}