It has been a LONG time since last I participated on AS (3 yrs or more), however, if I might bring some ancient history of AS into the discussion of discussing the history of the Celts, perhaps it would help? I only offer, because I will be an infrequent visitor -- though Tara is a very special place in my heart -- real world keeps me from being here too often. Nevertheless -- onto the issue of Celtic academics on AW/AS. There were many excellent scholars of history about that could share much with those of us online desirous of the exchange of information, however, this scholarly endeavor did tend to get lost in the revelry of Taran role play. I think that the idea of a topical outline reserved exclusively for the pursuit of historical information related to the Celts is a noble and needed pursuit.

One of the challenges, however, is that for all their similarities -- their differences were just as historically relevant. What the early Halstaat cultures were are as unique as the British Celts or the Irish Celts or the Celts of Gaul or Iberia. Then there are the Galatians, they had significant relevance as well as a role to play in early Christianity. Gerhard Herm describes them as "The people who came out of the darkness" in his book "The Celts". They are as varied as any peoples of the earth and truly deserve the best scholarly pursuit I would suggest that in addition to the topics suggested thus far for this thread, that you add topics by Geographic relevance, such as Britain, Gaul, Iberia, Ireland, etc... there are many more. By having the topics that are relevant to all Celts, such as warfare and languages and then balancing that with the geographics differences of the tribes/clans I believe that a truly interesting and engaging academic discussion of this fascinating people can take place in such a way as to engender respect from our esteemed colleagues in the other cities, while at the same time allowing for the fact that the Celts are a playful lot at heart and will always turn to song, poetry and play to end their days.

Originally, (and believe me I mean originally -- I was there when Tara was born) there was an intent for us to be able to pursue all things Celtic in a way that would allow all the varities of Celticism to flourish. That includes Arthurian legends, myths, songs, poetry and much more. Our problem was, that we were having so much fun that Tara spun into something we had not quite envisioned. Not to say that's bad, but it would be lovely to have a place strictly dedicated to the academics of such a fascinating peoples. Good luck in creating it.