Genava55

Restorers discover shield fragment is 1,700 years old, making it the oldest German panel painting https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/shield-fragment-from-ad300-is-the-oldest-german-panel-painting

Yes, I suggested already one of those Germanic cavalryman from the tribes close to the Rhine, mixing Celtic and Germanic stuff. The Bastanae and Sciri raiding the Carpatians and Black Sea region were as well similar with mixture of Celtic and Germanic weapons. So they could be represented by the same unit. Else, a Suebian mercenary with a Suebian knot. Or a Chatti warrior with short hair (Tacitus description in Germania).

https://www.huellhorst-erleben.de/die-germanische-siedlung-von-buettendorf To complement this: https://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?/topic/26110-civ-germans-suebians-and-goths/&do=findComment&comment=383239

Right. Like the designation of "Celt" for every barbarians (even the Cimbri were called Celts before Julius Caesar). Herodotos said that the Thracians were basically everything north of Hellas, which is very vague. The question is not the linguistics link and their common ancestry in my point. Agree. Like the Celtic civs are the Britons and the Gauls (and maybe one day the Celtiberians).

The Odrysian kingdom mostly shattered during the end of the 4th century BC and the beginning of the 3rd century BC, because of Macedonians and Gauls. The extent of the remaining kingdom is much smaller. The Sboryanovo site and Sveshtari tomb are associated with Dromichaetes and the city Helis.

Sboryanovo: https://spartokos.wordpress.com/2019/01/08/7214/

Probably Bulgarian, anyway difficult to read The Getae are indeed less hellenized but they are still close to the Black Sea with multiple Greek colonies. Sboryanovo looks quite Hellenized or very inspired from the Greeks.

Thracian houses with wooden tiles for the roof and bricks/stones for the walls and foundation. More stones for the barracks and the economic buildings as well. Fortress and other last stage buildings with a lot of Hellenistic stuff. Dacian houses with wooden tiles for the roof but with wooden planks and wattle-and-daub for the walls. Mixing round and rectangular shapes for the houses. More "barbarians" buildings as a reference for the barracks. Using the Sarmizegetusa finds as a reference (with caution although).

I was thinking as well that the Dacians were similar to the Thracians because of the Getae but it seems much more complicated, the Getae are only a small part of the Dacian kingdom and most of the archaeological finds about the Dacians are in the Western regions. I think that it should be normal that there are some similarities in their design, especially for the buildings and the architecture, but they should be two different factions. I think that someday, an intermediate step should be started with adding a few factions going slightly after the 0 AD Empire Ascendant time-span. Notably Dacians and Parthians.

Sundiata, these pictures are about Thracian or Dacian settlements?

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holsteiner_Gürtel_von_Hamburg-Altengamme https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gürtelblech

My mistake

So for the little story, this is a petroglyph from Bornholm, Denmark Sweden. Dated from around 1500 BC, in the Nordic Bronze Age. It represents clearly both a solar wheel and a time wheel (like a watch). The symbol is appearing again but slightly modified during the Early Jastorf period (600/400 BC):

Is it me or we still see the valknut in the background?

Circle symbols from petroglyphs and adornments, a few ideas and mixture

It's @wowgetoffyourcellphone that is deciding, it is his mod.

North Belgian/Rhine-Weser Early Germanic cavalry:

Nice! I like it. Do you want to add the cheek protections? Tell me if you need anything.

The word phalanx is only meaning a tight formation working as a wall with spear hedge. The word has been applied several times for the Gauls. But clearly the Greeks and the Hellenes were those that push the concept to its maximum.

That's nice. Largely good enough.

It is one of the Monte Bibele helmets (there are several decorated helmets from there this is why you can find differences between the helmet patterns, Rome at War is mixing two helmets but it is not that much a problem): A few tentative of reconstruction of different helmets here

Overall I agree with your proposal, very urban civilizations have a denser population so they should have houses and residentials with a better increase. However, it has nothing to do with science, nor they are more scientific than the others. Greco-Roman houses construction were not applying more scientific principles than their Gallic equivalents. It is another matter for more complex buildings but for houses it is not the case. At this time, engineering has little to do with scientific knowledge but more with practical experience and socioeconomical needs. So I agree, civilizations that were more rural than urban should have cheaper and simpler houses, but not necessarily a population bonus. In the case of the Gallic, maybe it makes sense to give them a strong asset in spreading strategies in regards of the history of the La Tène culture but not necessarily through population bonus by buildings. Good idea.

Lepontic/Rhaetian axeman Lepontic references: Rhaetian (Fritzens-Sanzeno-Kultur) references:

I hope the Britons will get more paintings too in the future.