Celts in Transylvania Celts in Transylvania The appearance of Celts in Transylvania can be traced to the later La Tène period (c. 4th century BC). 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
Celts in Transylvania found in Mediaș, Moreşti, (Mureş County) and Ciumeşti. Expansion of Celtic groups in the area may be related to their invasion of the Balkans around 335 BC, when a massive colonization of the Tisa plain and the Transylvanian Plateau occurred following the death of Lysimachus. However, the eastward movement of the Celts into Transylvania used a different route from the one taken by the hordes that attacked the Balkans. Celts did not occupy all intra-Carpathian areas of Transylvania, stopping short of the Maramureş Depression for instance, where excavations have uncovered Dacian fortifications from the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. As