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We in Wales consider ourselves Celts – but we are very different from the Celts who lived here in the Iron Age. Iron Age Celts lived here before and after Christ. We are going back a long, long time – about two thousand years.

Our years are numbered beginning in the year in which Christ was born – Iron Age Celts lived here 750 years before then. The Iron Age ended in AD 43 (43 years after Christ was born) when the Romans came to Britain.

We call this era ‘The Iron Age’ because the Celts discovered and used a new metal, iron.

We have learnt a lot about the Celts by finding things made from iron and other surviving materials.

The Celts lived across most of Europe during the Iron Age. Today the Celts live in the countries we know as:

• Wales
• Ireland
• Scotland
• Isle of Man
• Cornwall
• Brittany

Celtic culture continues today through language, music, poetry and literature.

Recording events

The early Celts didn’t leave any books because they couldn’t read or write – talking and remembering was how the Celts recorded events. But luckily for us, the Greeks and Romans wrote about Iron Age Celts. These works tell us that Iron Age Celts lived in groups called tribes and wore gold. The Celts enjoyed fighting and drinking wine.

Peat bog body

Sometimes clues are discovered by accident. While a digger was moving soil in a peat bog in Cheshire, he saw a man’s body buried deep in the peat. The worker was shocked and called the police – they thought the man had been murdered. The man had been knocked on his head, choked and his neck had been broken. Imagine the archaeologists’ surprise when they discovered that the man was an Iron Age Celt, and that he was killed 2,000 years ago!

Only the top half of the body was left. Archaeologists found food still in his stomach after 2,000 years. His last meal was bread. This is a fascinating clue to the world of the Celts, preserved in the peat and mud.

The peat man was naked when the excavator found his body. Unfortunately, evidence such as clothes, shoes and pots are not often found as they rot in the ground. But objects made from stone and metal don’t rot, and these are some of the clues that tell us about the Celts.

Iron Age people would have chosen a place to live for different reasons. The chief and his family, soldiers and craftsmen, lived in a hillfort as it was easy to defend. There are the remains of over 1,000 hillforts in Wales. Steep slopes, high walls and deep ditches helped keep the Celts safe in their homes.

The farmers lived on the land they farmed. The Celts built farms close to water, fertile ground and good pasture for the animals. The Celts grew corn and kept cattle, pigs, horses, goats and sheep.

Iron Age Celts lived in houses – but these were very different from the houses we live in today.

Large families lived in a roundhouse. The walls were made of daub, made from straw, mud and manure. The roof was made of straw.

The Celts would use a fire in the middle of the roundhouse to cook and warm the house.

In the roundhouse, an iron fire dog would be installed on either side of the fireplace. Its purpose may have only been decorative, or perhaps to show the status of the home.

The Iron Age name comes from the Celtic discovery of iron. Archaeologists have found clues that show how skilled Iron Age Celts were in making things from metal.

In Wales, the earliest iron fragments are from Llyn Fawr, Rhondda Cynon Taff, a collection which dates to around 750 BC. The collection includes a sickle, a sword and a spear.

Jewellery

Archaeologists have discovered lots of jewellery while excavating for clues about the Celts. The Celts used metals such as bronze and gold as well as iron. The Celtic chiefs would wear fancy jewellery to show how important they were.

Celtic craftspeople liked symmetrical designs and patterns. They particularly liked the shape of three legs (triskele) such as the one on the Iron Age bronze plaque in the picture.

Weapons

Their skill as metal-workers was also important when they were defending themselves from their enemies.They needed sharp weapons such as spears, as well as shields, like the one in the picture, to protect themselves from an attack by the enemy.

Soldier’s costume

Roman historians say that Celtic soldiers had white spiky hair. The Celts would use lime as we use a hair mousse today, and sometimes tie their hair in ponytails.

Around their necks they wore gold torcs as large chains. The most important soldiers were wearing helmets made from bronze to show how important they were.

There would often be images of birds, animals or horns on the helmets. They carried huge shields decorated with signs or patterns.

Dress and appearance

Some Iron Age Celts may have worn clothes that looked like the tartan seen in Scotland and Ireland today, with a pattern of squares and strips.

The Celts used berries and plants to change the colour of their wool. The Celts liked bright clothes and, according to the Romans, some Celts painted patterns on their body with blue paint made from a special plant.

The Celts’ clothing demonstrated their status and importance within the tribe:

• the men wore a tunic with a belt, cloak and trousers
• the women wore dresses closed with an ornament like a brooch

Important members of the tribe wore a gold, silver or iron, neck torc decorated with Celtic patterns.

According to the Romans, the Celts often lost their temper and fought – but we don’t know if that was the case. After all, they couldn’t have fought all the time – they would have been too tired to farm! Farmers had to be ready to fight when they were called on by the head of the tribe.

The Celts often fought naked – and historians believe women fought as well. Their main weapons were spears and swords. Sometimes they would fight in a chariot pulled by a horse.

The famous Roman Tacitus said the Celtic women were as big and as scary as the men. If this was the case, it’s not surprising that they took part in the fighting!

A famous warrior was a woman called Boudicca, or Buddug in Welsh. She was head of the Iceni tribe. She was described as a woman with thick red hair down to her knees.

She wore a colourful tunic, a gold torc around her neck and a cloak of thick cloth tied with a brooch. When she would go to fight, she would hold a spear in her hand. She didn’t like the Romans and fought against them.

Archaeologists believe that Iron Age Celts worshiped many gods and goddesses. They worshipped their gods by sacrificing valuables to keep them happy.

But their gifts to the gods were not just precious treasures – Iron Age Celts sacrificed (killed) animals, and even humans, to their gods. The Celts sacrificed weapons to the gods by throwing them into the lakes, rivers and bogs – the Celts thought these places were special to the gods.

At Llyn Cerrig Bach, Anglesey, archaeologists have found over 150 bronze and iron objects, including spears, shields and swords.

The Celts thoroughly respected the human head. Roman historians said that the Celts cut off the heads of their forefathers, and even their enemies, worshipping the skull.

Celtic religion was closely associated with the natural world, and they worshipped their gods in special places such as lakes, rivers, hills and woods.

The moon, sun and stars were important to them – the Celts believed there were supernatural forces in the natural world.

Druids

Druids were the priests of the Celts. We know a little about the druids from reading the descriptions of Roman historians.The main centre of the druids in Britain was Anglesey. Druids were an important part of Iron Age society and were responsible for all kinds of religious ceremonies. They were capable and powerful members of the tribe and were respected by the other Celts.

Archaeologists believe that the body in the peat from Cheshire was a sacrifice to the gods. We cannot be sure of what happened in the past, but we can gather the clues together and use a bit of imagination to try and understand what happened.