In the 4th century BC, Celts settled in the area of present-day Teplice, becoming the first historically documented people in the region. Thanks to them, Teplice is often considered the oldest spa town in Central Europe. During the lowering of the main thermal spring Pravřídlo in 1879, Celtic coins decorated with motifs of a wild boar and a horse were discovered. These finds suggest that the springs were already known and likely used for healing purposes before the beginning of our era.
At the same site, Roman coins from the 1st to the 4th century AD were also found, indicating not only the custom of offering gifts to water deities but also that the Teplice springs were known to people from distant regions. They were probably visited by merchants travelling along an ancient trade route leading to the mountains and further through what is now Germany all the way to the Baltic Sea.
During the first five centuries after the beginning of the Common Era, the Celts were gradually displaced by Germanic tribes, particularly the Marcomanni and the Quadi.
