SocietyEurope

The Celts in Europe

801 BCE – 51 BCE

A shared culture without a state, from Ireland to Anatolia

In depth

Almost everything we "know" of the Celts comes from Greek and Roman writers who described them as savages — Caesar's account of the druids is both our chief source and a political defence of his own conquest. Archaeology shows something else: fortified hill towns with craft, coinage and long-distance trade. The languages survived only at the margins Rome never reached: Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Brittany.

For children

The Celts were not one people under one king but many tribes sharing language, art and religion. They sacked Rome in 387 BCE and reached as far as Turkey. Their metalwork is among the finest in Europe.

Connects to

The Iron Age1,201 BCE
Caesar assassinatedOct 46 BCE
The Roman Republic510 BCE – 28 BCE

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org