The Celts and Celtic Life

The Britons, also known as Celtic Britons or Ancient Britons were the Celtic people who inhabited Great Britain from at least the British Iron Age and into the Middle Ages, at which point they diverged into the Welsh, Cornish and Bretons (among others). They were loosely tied by similar language, religion, and cultural expression. They spoke the Common Brittonic language, the ancestor of the modern Brittonic languages.

They were not centrally governed, and quite as happy to fight each other as any non-Celt. They were warriors, living for the glories of battle and plunder. They were also the people who brought iron working to the British Isles.

Roman Sites to visit in South East England

More about Roman Britain

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In 390 BCE, the Gauls defeated the Romans at the confluence of the Tiber and the Allia rivers, and then marched on to Rome. In late July of that year, the undefended city fell to the invaders and was burnt and sacked. The only resistance was from a small number of Romans on Capitol Hill, who held out until they were forced to surrender due to famine.

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The main Celtic weapons would have been a sword, usually fastened on the right side and a spear...

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Celtic tribes lived in many areas of Europe. They were very different from their southern neighbours, the Greeks and Romans.

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Warfare was deeply ingrained in Celtic social structures, art, religion, and lifestyle, and the Celts had a reputation as fierce warriors among their neighbours in the ancient world. Why did they excel at warfare?

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​​During the Iron Age (c. 800 BC - AD 43), many people in Britain lived in settlements called hillforts. A hillfort could be home to hundreds of people. These settlements were on higher ground because it made it easier to defend their tribe against attacks from other tribes.

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The Celts were a group of peoples who expanded throughout Europe during the Bronze and Iron Ages. The origins of the Celts are still a topic of ongoing debate among historians. How was Celtic Society structured?

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Iron Age Celtic Britain consisted almost exclusively of settled farming communities who tended their crops and livestock

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Celtic art consists of three movements attributed to peoples of different times, but that share a heritage.

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Were the Celts skilled craftsmen? What did they make?

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Many animals within Celtic Mythology play important roles.

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What were the beliefs of the Ancient Celts?

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By 275 BC the Celts had settlements stretching from Ireland to Turkey. Who were they and where did they come from?

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The term druid is used by Greek and Roman authors, medieval Irish writers, and modern scholars alike to designate a priest of the ancient Celts.

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The Historic Ages of Britain from Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age

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Who were the Tribes of Iron-Age anf Roman Britain?

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