Celts and the Invasion

Who are the Celts?

The Iron Age Celts lived in Britain before and after Jesus. We're going back a very, very long time - two thousand years ago, in fact. Our years are numbered by starting at the year Jesus Christ was born - and the Iron Age Celts lived here 750 years before that. The Iron Age ended in AD43 (43 years after Jesus was born) when the Romans invaded Britain. The name 'Iron Age' comes from the discovery of a new metal called iron. We can find out a lot about the Celts through looking at objects made of iron and other materials which have survived over time, such as the Tal-y-Llyn plaque.

The brass plaque was found in 1963 on Cadair Idris in north Wales. The pair of plaques are decorated with human faces. The faces have staring eyes, and straight hair. Archaeologists believe that the head was greatly respected by the Celts. The Celts lived across most of Europe during the Iron Age. Today the Celts live in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Cornwall and in Brittany, France. Their culture lives on in language, music, song and literature.

The Evidence

Sometimes the clues are found by accident. A digger moving earth in a peat bog in Cheshire found a human body buried deep in a bog. The shocked workmen called the police - they thought the man had been murdered. The man had been knocked on the head, strangled and his neck had been cut. Imagine their surprise when archaeologists worked out that he was an Iron Age Celt who had been killed 2000 years ago. Only the upper half of the man's body remained. Archaeologists found food still in his stomach after 2,000 years! His last meal was bread. Here was a fantastic clue to the world of the Celts, pickled in the bog.

The bog man was naked when his body was found. Unfortunately, evidence like clothes, shoes and pots are rarely found because they rot in the soil. But things made of stone and metal do not rot and these are the clues which tell us about the Celts - but give us only part of the story. The early Celts didn't leave books behind because they didn't read and write - word of mouth and memory were the Celts' way of recording events.The early Celts didn't leave books behind because they didn't read and write - word of mouth and memory were the Celts' way of recording events.

But luckily, the Greeks and Romans did write about the Iron Age Celts. They tell us that the Celts lived in tribes, they wore gold and loved to fight and drink wine. They also wrote about the power of the Celts' priests, who were called druids. The druids knew how to keep their gods happy - they sacrificed food, precious objects, and even people to their gods and goddesses. The Snowdon bowl in the picture was probably a gift to a god or goddess, as it was a valuable, important treasure. The design on the handle of the bronze bowl looks like an animal's head.

Two biology students found the bowl's remains in 1974 on the north-east side of Snowdon, north Wales. Archaeologists think the bog body from Cheshire was also a sacrifice to the gods. We can never be absolutely sure what happened in the past though. We can only piece together the clues and, with imagination, work out what happened.

The Homes

Iron Age Celts lived in houses - but they were very different to the houses we live in today! Large families lived in a roundhouse. The walls were made of daub (straw, mud and tail) and the roof of straw. The Celts would light a fire in the middle of the roundhouse for cooking and heating. A farm worker found this iron firedog in 1852 near Llanrwst, north Wales. It was found lying on its side, with a large stone at each end, and deeply buried in peat.

Archaeologists believe it was a gift to one of the Celtic gods or goddesses. In the roundhouse, firedogs would have been placed as decorations either side of the central fire. Perhaps they showed the status of the family. The blacksmith who made this firedog was very skilled at shaping and working iron. At either end of the firedog is an animal's head and neck - it would have taken a lot of time, effort and skill to make.This is a reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse, built on a hillfort site in Castell Henllys, Pembrokeshire.

Iron Age people would have chosen where they lived for different reasons. The chieftain and his family, soldiers and craftsmen, lived in a hillfort because they were easy to defend.There are over 1000 Iron Age hillforts in Wales. Steep slopes, a high wall and deep ditch helped keep the Celts safe in their homes. Farmers lived on the land they farmed. Sometimes farms would be built in spots with a good source of water, or fertile ground of good pasture for the animals. The Celts grew corn and kept cows, pigs, horses, goats and sheep. The hillforts didn't keep the Romans out though and the Celtic tribes were conquered when the Romans invaded in AD43.

Metalwork

Archaeologists have found lots of jewellery when digging for clues about the Celts. The Celts used bronze and gold as well as iron. The heads of the tribe would wear fancy jewellery to show how important they were. The Celtic craftsmen loved symmetrical designs and patterns. They were especially fond of a three-legged (triskeles) shape, like the one on this Iron Age bronze plaque which was found in Llyn Cerrig Bach in Anglesey. The Celts also liked to use animal shapes and faces in their patterns.

Because archaeologists rarely find clothing, leatherwork or basketwork, we can only guess by looking at the metal and gold and other objects that have survived that the Celts liked bright colours and complicated patterns. Their skill as metal workers was also important when they were defending themselves from their enemies. They needed sharp objects like spears, as well as shields, to defend themselves from enemy attack. The picture shows part of a shield, also decorated with a triskele, which was found in Tal-y-Llyn.

Clothes and Appearances

The Iron Age Celts' clothes might have looked like the tartan you see in Scotland and Ireland today, with checks and stripes. The Celts used berries and plants to dye the wool different colours. Not only did the Celts like brightly coloured clothes - the Romans tell us that some of them painted patterns all over their bodies with blue wood made of a special plant. The Celts' clothes showed their status and importance within the tribe. Men would wear a tunic with a belt, a cloak and trousers. Women wore dresses fastened with brooches.

And if you were an important member of the tribe, you would wear a neck torc of gold, silver or iron, decorated with patterns Roman historians say that Celtic soldiers had white spiky hair. They used lime like we use hair mousse today, and sometimes they tied their hair up in a ponytail. Around their necks they wore gold torcs like big necklaces. The most famous soldiers wore fancy bronze helmets on their head to show how important they were. Often there were model birds, animals or horns on the helmets which made them even more special. They carried huge shields decorated with signs or patterns.

Warriors

The Romans say that the Celts lost their tempers and quarrelled often - but we don't know that. After all, they couldn't have been fighting all the time - they'd be too tired to do any farming! The farmers had to be ready to fight whenever the head of the tribe called on them. The Celts often fought naked - and it's believed that women would fight as well.

Their main weapons were the sword and spear, like the iron sword in the picture above, and they sometimes fought in horse-drawn war chariots. Even though the Celts were proud, brave and skilled fighters, they were rather undisciplined. They really had little chance against the Romans' order and power. And, of course, in the end they were defeated by the Romans. This wooden sword was discovered in a pond at the Breiddin hillfort site, near Welshpool in mid Wales - the wet conditions had preserved it over the years.

The sword could have been a toy, a weaving tool, or a gift to the gods. Ta citus said that Celtic women were as large and frightening as the men. If this is true, no wonder they took part in the fighting too. Bouddicca is a famous female fighter. Chief of the Inceni tribe, she is described as having thick red hair down to her knees - a bit like Fearless Fiona in our Games & Stori es, perhaps. She wore a colourful tunic, a gold torc around her neck and a cape of thick tweed pinned with a brooch. When she went to fight, she held a spear in her hand.

Religion and belief

Archaeologists believe that the Iron Age Celts had many gods and goddesses and that the Celts worshipped their gods through sacrifice, giving them valuable objects to keep them happy. But material treasures weren't the only sacrifices - the Iron Age Celts sacrificed (killed) animals, and even humans, to their gods.

The Celts also sacrificed weapons to the gods by throwing them into lakes, rivers and bogs - places they considered special. At Llyn Cerrig Bach, archaeologists have found over 150 objects of bronze and iron, including spears, shields and swords. The Celts paid great respect to the human head. Roman historians say they cut off the heads of their ancestors, and even their enemies, and worshipped the skulls.

The Celtic religion was closely tied to the natural world and they worshipped gods in sacred places like lakes, rivers, cliffs and bushes. The moon, the sun and the stars were especially important - the Celts thought that there were supernatural forces in every aspect of the natural world. The druids were very important in Iron Age society but we know very little about them. They were the Celts' priests, responsible for all sorts of religious ceremonies. They were educated and powerful members of the tribe and were well respected by the other Celts. The main centre of the druids in Britain was Anglesey.

We know a little about the druids from descriptions by Roman historians. The Romans tried to limit the powers of the druids because they were so important in Iron Age society.

Roman Rule’s

The Romans came to Britain looking for riches - land, slaves, and most of all, iron, lead, zinc, copper, silver and gold. They came from Rome in Italy, fighting other tribes and gaining land across most of Europe and North Africa. In AD 43 they invaded Britain. The Romans took over the Celts' land and built towns.

They built strong forts linked to a good road system. Ports and harbours were also important places for the Romans to bring in food, wine and oil from abroad. They also shipped goods from Wales overseas. This iron gang chain was found in Llyn Cerrig Bach in north Wales during the Second World War. It has five sets of neck shackles. The writer Strabo tells us that the Romans exported slaves from Britain in the late Iron Age but we don't know if that was what this chain was used for - it may have been used for criminals or sacrifices.

The relationship between the Romans and Celts was not always unfriendly. The Romans' way of life was very different from that of the Celts and many of the Celts started to copy the Romans, speaking their language and living like them. The Celts started using Latin words and within a few generations the Celtic and Roman ways of life became mixed. The Celts and Romans married each to her, Roman soldiers retired from the army and became farmers and shopkeepers. The sons and grandsons of those who fought against the Romans even joined the Roman army. After 400 years the Romans left Britain. Their empire was coming to an end. In the western parts of the British Isles, Celtic peoples survived despite a new threat - the Anglo-Saxons.

By Asma