rock which they did not work. From Schönebeck to Dürkheim lies an
immense bed of salt, and this the Celtic population of the district dug
and condensed by aid of fires fed by huge logs cut from the giant trees
of the vast and mysterious forests which have from time immemorial
shadowed the whole existence of the German race. The salt, moulded or
cut into blocks, was transported to Gaul as an article of commerce. But
the Celts of the Rhine achieved distinction in other arts of life, for
their pottery, weapons, and jewellery will bear comparison with those of
prehistoric peoples in any part of Europe.

As has been remarked, at the dawn of history we find the Rhine Celts
everywhere in full retreat before the rude and more virile Teutons.
They lingered latterly about the Moselle and in the district of Eifel,
offering a desperate resistance to the onrushing hordes of Germanic
warriors. In all likelihood they were outnumbered, if not outmatched
in skill and valour, and they melted away before the savage ferocity of
their foes, probably seeking asylum with their kindred in Gaul.

Probably the Teutonic tribes had already commenced to apply pressure to
the Celtic inhabitants of Rhine-land in the fourth century before the
Christian era. As was their wont, they displaced the original possessors
of the soil as much by a process of infiltration as by direct conquest.
The waves of emigration seem to have come from Rhaetia and Pannonia,
broad-headed folk, who were in a somewhat lower condition of barbarism
than the race whose territory they usurped, restless, assertive, and
irritable. Says Beddoe:[1]

[Footnote 1: The Anthropological History of Europe, p. 100.]

“The mass of tall, blond, vigorous barbarians multiplied, seethed,