THE CELTS

During the Iron Age (ca 600 BC-50 AD) a Celtic culture established itself throughout the British Isles.

The Celts were tribes of warriors who shared a similar language, religion and culture. The Romans, who fought against them, reported about their culture but presented them as barbarians.

The Celts gradually settled in Britain between 500 and 100 BC. 

They brought ironworking to the British Isles, which had amazing effects. It affected trade and helped develop local independence because iron was quite cheap and easily available.

We don't know if the hill fort (a small ditch and bank surrounding a hilltop) were built by the Celts as they moved into hostile territory or by the native Britons to defend themself. 

The basic unit of Celtic life was the clan, which was like today's extended family. Clans joined together with other clans to form tribes, each with its own social structure and customs.

The Celts live in huts made of timber with thatched roofs. 

 

The Celts practised agricolture when they were not fighting in wars. They introduced the iron plough, which made the cultivation of the soil easier. In the countryside in Britain it is still possible to see the long and narrow pattern  of the Celtic field.

Women were almost equal to men. They could choose the man they wanted to marry and retained their own property. They could also lead other warriors in war, like Boadicea - a warrior queen of the early Britons who fought against the Romans.

The Celts relied on the oral transmission of culture, especially through bards. Much of what we know of their traditions comes to us today through the old tales and poems that were handed down for generations before being written down.

They warshipped the natural elements, like the sun, the moon and water. They held their religious rites in the woods and near the sacred water of wells and springs.