Vaccaei

thumb|right|350px|The Iberian Peninsula in the 3rd century BC. thumb|Painting depicting the Vaccaei going out to defend Palencia from the troops of Lucius Licinius Lucullus (151 BC). (Artist: [[Eugenio Oliva)]] The Vaccaei or Vaccei were a pre-Roman Celtic people of Spain, who inhabited the sedimentary plains of the central Duero valley, in the Meseta Central of northern Hispania (specifically in Castile and León).

==Origins== Also designated Vaccaenas in the ancient sources, the Vaccaei were probably largely of Celtic descent and probably related to the Celtiberians. Their name may be derived from the Celtic word '', meaning a slayer'', since they were celebrated fighters. However, some scholars have reasoned that the name 'Vaccaei' may actually derive from 'Aued-Ceia', a contraction of Ceia, the presumed ancient name of the modern river Cea, prefixed by the Indo-European root *aued- (water).