The Celts

1Who were the Celts?

The Celts came from central Europe to Ireland around 600 B.C. They were fearless warriors and they were very skilled in working with metal.

They discovered iron. This was much stronger than bronze (which was used before) so their weapons were stronger in battles. This time (600 B.C. – about 43 A.D.) was known as the Iron Age.

The early Celts didn't read or write. Luckily, the Greeks and Romans wrote about the Iron Age Celts. They tell us that the Celts lived in tribes, they wore gold and loved to fight and drink wine. They also wrote about the power of the Celts' priests, who were called druids.

The Celts

2Houses

The Celts lived in roundhouses with thatched roofs of straw or heather.

The walls were usually made from wattle and daub (wood, clay and straw).

Families lived together in settlements - children, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Here, the roundhouses were built in groups. The walls protected them from wolves and wild boar.

The Celts

3Ogham writing

•The Celts used Ogham writing.

•They started off by carving Ogham onto pieces of wood but then they began to carve onto rocks which became known as ‘Ogham Stones’.

•If you were reading an Ogham stone, you would read it from the bottom to the top.

•There are only twenty letters in the early Irish Ogham alphabet instead of the twenty-six we have in our alphabet.

The Celts

4Celtic designs

The Celts

5Clothing

The Celts liked colourful clothes. They used berries and plants to dye wool different colours.

They often used tartan patterns

Women wore dresses fastened with brooches.

Men would wear a tunic with a belt, a cloak and trousers.

The Romans tell us that some Celts painted patterns all over their bodies using a special plant.

Men sometimes used lime to spike their hair up before battle.

The Celts

6Warriors

The most famous soldiers wore fancy bronze helmets on their head to show how important they were.

Often there were model birds, animals or horns on the helmets which made them even more special.

Warriors carried huge shields decorated with

signs or patterns.

The Celts

7Food

The Celts were very good farmers. Their iron tools helped them to cut down forests and plough land.

They lit fires in the centre of their roundhouses to cook meat such as beef and pork.

They also ate vegetables like cabbage, turnips and carrots.

They grew cereals like wheat, barley and oats. They used the barley to make bread, porridge and beer.

The Celts

8Religion

The Celts worshipped many gods. The main god was Daghda, god of the afterlife. Lugh was the god of war

and harvest.

Druids:Druids were pagan priests. It could take up to 20 years to become a druid.

The Celts believed that druids had magical powers and could see into the future.

This is a sculpture of a druid near Tullamore, Co. Offaly.

NAME: _________________________________ _____ DATE:____________Station 1:1. Place an “X” on this timeline to show when the Celts arrived in Ireland:

2. How have we found out about the Celts?___________________________________________________________________

Station 2:2. What were roundhouses made from? __________________________________________

3. Why did the Celts build walls around their settlements?______________________________________________________________________

Station 3: Station 4:Write your name in Ogham:(bottom to top!) Design this shield using a Celtic

design:

1AD 2000AD1000AD1000BC2000BC 1500BC 500BC 500AD 1500AD

Station 5:How did the Celts make their clothes colourful? __________________________________________

What clothes did Celtic women wear? _________________________________

Station 6:Look at the helmet. What designs can you see? ___________________________________________

Do you think it belonged to a famous soldier? _________ Why? ________________________________________________________________________

Station 7:What meat did the Celts eat? _________________________________________

What do you think the people in the picture might be cooking? ___________________________________________________________________________________

Station 8:Name two Celtic gods. ___________________________________

What were Celtic priests called? ______________