Expert: Malcolm Speechley - 11/4/2007

Question
What was life like in the few hundred years before the Romans invaded Britain? I have searched all over the web and I really can't find anything too descriptive. Did they live in scattered towns? Did families generally live in the same area all their lives? These are the types of things I'm looking for. I hope you can help me!

Answer
Hi Katie.

This is a big question. So I'll try to give you an overview of life in pre-roman Britain.

Firstly much of the island was covered in forest which was cleared as and when needed. The country was populated by Celts who spoke a form of Gaelic similar to that still spoken in some parts of Ireland today.

The Celts, were divided into various tribes and lived in settlements they referred to as cities, though in terms of size and population they were more akin to a modern day village.

The society was hierarchical with a King at the Top. Beneath him were the leading nobles who included members of the Druidical priesthood. These were followed by lesser nobles. At the bottom were the common people who had very limited rights and were not permitted to own property.

The lower orders generally lived in the same settlement all their lives although movement dig take place if land was taken from a neighbouring tribe in war. Higher class women sometimes moved to another tribe if she was married into it. Such inter tribal marriages were common, mainly for political reasons and because it was not seen as fitting for a woman to marry someone lower down the social scale than herself.

In physical appearance the Celts were fair Skinned and both men and women always wore their hair long. To grow fat in Celtic society was considered a mark of disgrace so the Celts were always figure conscious. Their voices were described as harsh this was true of both Sexes. The men wore trousers which were at the time uncommon, whilst the women wore skirts. Roman influence began to take effect even before the Roman invasion and in the later Celtic period Togas and other modes of Roman dress became fashionable.

The religion of the island was druidical. It was overseen was a chief priest known as the Archdruid. Beneath him were lesser priests referred to as bards and Ovates. The Year was divided into thirteen months each represented by a star sign. In Druidical religion the first loyalty of a person was to his star sign. If a member of your particular sign were in danger you were obliged to help him even if he was a member of an enemy army against whom you were fighting. The people worshiped many gods and goddesses the names of many of these are lost but were basically counterparts of the Greek and Roman Gods. Druids also believed the oak tree to be sacred. A part of this tradition still survives today with the use of mistletoe at Christmas.

In times of crises the druids would practice human sacrifice. It was considered a great honour to be chosen for as the sacrifice. The belief in resurrection made for willing victims. Many of these victims were sacrificed in peat bogs which has preserved their bodies many of which have been re-discovered in our time.

This is a brief overview of some aspects of pre-Roman Britain. The following is a list of keywords which might prove useful if you were interested in further web searches.

Celts, Druids, Bog Bodies, Cadbury (a Celtic hill Fort) Flag Fen (a re-discovered pre Roman settlement.

The Flag Fen settlement was discovered near Peterborough. Many of the artifacts discovered are on display the huts have been re-produced. there is also examples of the livestock (mainly Goats) the Celts would've kept. THese had to be imported as they are now extinct in Britain. If you do not live too far from this area it is well worth a visit. If not check it out on the net.

Hope this has been useful.

Malc