The archaeology of graves is the main source of information on the Celtic warrior's equipment. Throughout the Bronze age, the principal weapon was the sword (used for cut and thrust mainly). Spears were also in use and there is some evidence for wooden and leather shields. Bronze arrow heads are known, especially in the Upper Danubian region, but the bow seems to have been going out of fashion. Keep in mind this is during the Bronze Age......long before any Roman contact.

Much later on, the battle of Telamon, fought in 225 BC, affords us the first Celtic battle of which a proper description takes place. One point made by Polybius is that the Gaulish swords could only be used for cutting and not for thrusting. Archaeology shows that by this date Celtic swords had become heavier and broader. The majority of graves of ordinary foot soldiers (the majority of those fighting) indicate that the heavy sword and one or two spears comprised the most typical armament.

There was never anything in the way of a Celtic cavalry in the way one might speak of a Roman cavalry. It is clear that the number of mounted horsemen present in battles with Romans did increase as time went on.

Achaeologically, the limited use of the sling is attested to in Brittany and in southwestern Britain in the first century BC. This was not a typical weapon of the Celts.