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. Halloween started as a simple celebration of the land’s bounty. But the holiday is immersed in ancient symbolism with a deeper meaning of eternal connection with the earth and the rhythm of the seasons.

In battle, Celts mainly fought with swords and spears, and they used long shields to protect themselves. Indeed it is far more logical to look at the way language and technologies spread. The advent of Bronze weapons, metal working, ore extraction - all these required skilled people spreading their knowledge. That required language to be taught. It does not necessarily mean invasion and displacement. Indeed there is little evidence for that. 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.The body of an Iron Age Celt was found in a bog in Cheshire in 1984. He is called the Lindow Man, and could have died as part of a sacrifice to the gods worshipped at that time.

Celtic identity remains an issue, a living political one, in what are now Scotland, Ireland, Wales ... and to a lesser extent in Cornwall, Britanny, northern Spain. Roberts barely touches on this - she does discuss the continued presence of Gaelic languages, but, throughout the book she refers to 'Britain' and 'British' without actually questioning these terms or recognising that they are every bit as problematic as the terms 'Celt' or 'Celtic'.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 author describes what we know about the way the Celts lived and how they fought in times of war. She describes their jewellery and their chariots. The fine workmanship on gold jewellery which has been discovered both in Britain and Europe shows that they had a high level of craftsmanship and were not the barbarians that Roman writers generally depict. The thing about Barry Cunliffe is that he’s written so many books on the Celts, and he’s clearly sweated a lot over these books. My impression with this book … my hypothesis is that he wrote it on a wet weekend and didn’t think too much about it. And I think it comes out so much better as a result. It’s just his reflections, his musings, and it’s a really fun read. Having a fun time reading fascinating mythology books brings the family together. The audiobook is easy and takes about three hours and ten minutes. It gives a great introduction to Celtic prehistoric societies’ basic structure and location.

The Celts have long been a source of mystery and intrigue. Their culture kept records orally through songs, stories, and poems; however, they left no written records. As a result, the few written accounts we have were most likely written by Romans, who often didn’t have the most favorable opinion of the Celts. Dagda lazily swept his fingers across the strings of a harp and played a beautiful melody. The music of grief made the Fomorians stop and bow as they sniveled. Soldiers sobbed, too but drew their mantles to ensure no one could see their tears flowing. Several tribes made up the larger population of the Celtic people. Indeed, the Gaels, Gauls, Britons, Irish and Galatians were all Celtic tribes.

Who were the Celts?

Columba lived in the sixth century, an Irish saint who ended up on Iona in the Hebrides in a monastery there. And Richard Sharpe has translated this seventh-century text, written a century after Columba’s death, from Latin into English, and he’s done it with enormous style. The end of the book has copious notes as well for the curious reader. It happened when human lives were profoundly connected to the land, the food it produces, and the seasons.