Thoughts on Galicia?

[OC Richard]

Very old art found in Galicia seems to depict folk wearing tartan. Not possible to prove it was.

About proving that it was tartan, it just depends on how one defines "tartan". If tartan is defined as a Highland Scottish system of specific patterns signifying specific families or surnames, "tartan" cannot exist anywhere outwith Highland Scotland. And, I might point out that "tartan" so defined didn't exist in the Highlands of Scotland until the 19th century.

So putting that issue aside, and speaking of woven cloth that has patterns created by stripes in the warp and weft, such cloth exists the world over and is part of many folk traditions.

Traditional folk art the world over tends to love pattern. Ceramic bowls will have decoration, cloth will be woven in patterns, cloth will be embroidered, leatherwork will be tooled, metalwork will be engraved or cast with patterns, woodwork will be carved.

The theory is that, at least in ancient times, the patterning of surfaces was due to the concept of horror vacui, the fear of empty spaces.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horror_vacui

Anyhow here are some traditional Bulgarian folk costumes:



A traditional Igbo wedding



Dancers in Thailand



So it seems to me that there isn't anything inherently Celtic about horizontal and vertical patterns in woven cloth.

About Galicia, I don't think Galicia is any more or less "Celtic" than any other part of Europe which had spoken Celtic languages until the coming of the Romans.