解説
Most of the northern European tribes were not naval powers, but there were still able seafarers to be found amongst them. Shipbuilding techniques were well understood, so while many vessels were small leather-skinned boats for inland and inshore use, bigger sea-going vessels were also made. Shipwrights used heavy planking for hulls, stitched together and then fastened to a wooden skeleton to create sturdy craft able to cope with Atlantic conditions. Julius Caesar was surprised at the quality of the enemy ships when his fleet clashed with the Veneti from modern-day Brittany. The Veneti vessels had flat bottoms to cope with shallows, but were also of heavy oak construction to cope with rough seas. This made them tough opposition for Roman galleys, and capable of shrugging off a ramming attack. Caesar said that the enemy ships "...were constructed of planks a foot in breadth, fastened by iron spikes the thickness of a man's thumb; the anchors were secured fast by iron chains instead of cables”. When the Romans were forced to board, they faced fearsome warriors used to close-quarters fighting at sea.
ステップを生活の場とする人々には多くの文化的資産があり、決して無知で単純な蛮族ではありませんでした。古代ギリシアの歴史家によると、黒海の北岸からカスピ海に渡る広大な地域のうち、西方にスキタイ人、東方にサルマタイ人、さらに東方にはサカ人（サカイ）と呼ばれる部族が活動していました。彼らは浅黒い肌でズボンを履き、先端の尖った特徴的な帽子を被りました。サカ人は熟達の騎手であり、また弓術にも優れ、接近する敵を馬上から狙い撃ちにできました。発掘されたサカ人の女性の墳墓には多くの武器が埋葬されており、通常こういった副葬品は個人が生前使っていた品物であることから、サカ人の女は男と同じように戦闘に加わっていたのではないかと考えられています。もしかすると、彼女たちからギリシア神話に登場するアマゾーンの伝説が生まれたのかもしれません。
