Punic War Painting Guide - Spanish

This covers the Iberians (inc Balearic), Celtiberian and Lusitani. Check out my Field of Glory Ancient Spanish Army for more photos.

Item	Description
Tunic	White base with scarlet* decoration (national dress for all Spanish). For decorations see illustrations; minimum =strip around collar, cuffs, hem. A few of the rich Iberians (like Generals) in red tunics with white trim Celtiberians and Lusitani: I aimed for at most 1 in 12 tunics being black; rest are the normal white with red trim. Polybius says Purple, but there are four problems with this: Dye was expensive and purple dye was the most expensive, for example, only Roman Consuls wore purple. Purple dye was expensive because it was hard to get; the only source I know of was in Palestine. There was no source in Spain. It is much more likely that the predominant colour was red given Spain was a major exporter of this colour. According to Head (1982) Turdetania in southern Spain exported scarlet and red ochre dyes. So I picked scarlet. I believe the Osprey Armies of the Carthaginian Wars specifies crimson instead of purple although i can’t confirm this as I don’t have the book.
Shield	Shield Face: Bright and patterned. Lots of variety. See illustrations for patterns. Edge of oval shield + boss: Iron Note: Celtiberians/Lusitani would use both Iberian and Gallic shield patterns. Possibly evenly distributed.
Helmet	Bowl if sinew (common): White* <== important Bowl if metal: Bronze Crest: Red, black, or white * My sinew helmets are white ’cause that is what I thought they would have been at the time I painted them army, but people in general paint them anywhere from off-white to light brown.
Body Armour	Mail: Iron Scale: Iron or Bronze one or more, square or round plates: Bronze including shoulder straps
Greaves (leg guard)	Bronze
Hair (their own)	Black or dark brown
Belt	Base material: Leather Fittings including plaques: Bronze, gold or silver
Sandals/boots + straps	Base material: Leather Fittings: Bronze
Sword and dagger	Handle: Ivory or wood or iron Scabbard: Wood or leather with bronze fittings, or entirely iron Blade: Steel; a few Lusitani with Bronze
Javelin, pilum, spear	Haft: Wood Shaft + Blade: Steel; a few Lusitani with Bronze
Standard	Emblem: Silver or bronze Haft: Wood
Instruments	Bronze or baked clay
Cloak	Note: Rich (officers, cavalry) are more likely to vary Black is common, plus a few with: Iberian : scarlet Celtiberian/Lustitani: About 1 in 3 is Gallic pattern (stripes or checks)