The Romans succinctly called the tattoos and war paint of their opponents "stigmata Britonium", British signs. The mention of Tertullian: "the legion curbed the wild Scots (Scots) and studied the steel-colored drawings on the faces of the dead" - says a lot. (Perhaps this is how the art of tattooing once happened - from accidentally getting paint into a healing wound - to purposefully breaking the integrity of the skin with the introduction of a dye).Īlong with tattooing and scarring, the Celtic tribes of Europe widely used a very diverse combat cosmetics. Clay, soot, ocher or coal dust helped to “touch up” the wound. This is evidenced by Theodor Mommsen, describing the Celts in the "History of Rome": "Everything served as a reason for boasting - even a wound, which was often deliberately expanded in order to show off a wide scar." Sometimes, in order for the memory of the wound not to disappear, mineral dyes were specially added to non-dangerous wounds, emphasizing them with blue, red or black colors. Pride in their wounds and their traces - scars - forced the ancient inhabitants of Europe, the Celts, to prevent their healing without a trace. Tacitus noted that the barbarians, who were opposed by the Roman army in Britain, deliberately "scratched their faces with a sword" in order to appear scarier. This symbolized determination and contempt for pain and death, a kind of "fighting frenzy" - akin to that demonstrated by berserkers in northern Europe. In some tribes of Africa, America and Oceania, warriors used their own blood for such a terrible decoration. The warrior, covered with the blood of the enemy, demonstrated his strength and aggression - and not only to the enemy, but also to his comrades-in-arms and himself. And it is not known what was primary in this - the creation of a kind of olfactory protection from one's own, human smell, or giving oneself an eerie appearance, plunging enemies into horror. Ancient people smeared themselves with the blood of animals not only before hunting, but also before raiding a neighboring tribe. Scientists believe that the first means for applying combat makeup was blood.
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