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Who were the Celts?

The name ‘Celts’ (pronounced ‘kelts’) is used to describe all of the people who lived in Britain and northwest Europe during the Iron Age – from 600 BC to 43 AD, which is when the Romans arrived.

The Celts were a very advanced society. For instance, they learned how to make weapons from iron, which is why we call the time they lived in the “ Iron Age ”. In Britain, the Celts settled in areas such as Cornwall and Wales .

Top 10 facts

• The Celts lived during the Iron Age , from about 600 BC to 43 AD . This is the time when iron was discovered and used.
• The Iron Age ended when the Romans invaded Britain and set up their own civilisation and government.
• The people who lived in Britain during the Iron Age weren’t called ‘Celts’ until the 1700s. The name is used to describe all the different tribes that lived in Britain then.
• There were three main branches of Celts in Europe – Brythonic , Gaulic and Gaelic . Brythonic Celts (Britons) settled in England.
• The Celts who settled in England were split into many different tribes, each ruled by a king or queen.
• The Celts believed in many different gods who affected every part of everyday life. Druids , who were priests in Celtic society, tried to figure out what the gods wanted.
• Men and women in Celtic times usually wore long tunics with different accessories, such as coats, capes or belts.
• Most Celts were farmers , and they lived in houses that were round instead of square.
• In battle , Celts mainly fought with swords and spears, and they used long shields to protect themselves.
• Some people can still speak Celtic languages such as Welsh and Gaelic .

The Celts timeline

• 335 BC Celtic tribes signed a peace treaty with Alexander the Great, ensuring peace between the Celts and the Greeks
• 70 BC Druids arrived in Britain

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Did you know?

• The Iron Age is named for the fact that people first started using iron to make weapons and tools. Before this, they’d have used bronze .
• Brythonic (also called Britons), who lived around modern-day Cornwall and Wales
• Gaelic (also called Gaels), who were based in Ireland , Scotland and the Isle of Man
• Gaulic (also called Gauls), who lived across modern-day France , Belgium, Switzerland and northern Italy
• The Celts wore brightly coloured clothing, and made fabric dyes from berries, plants and even seaweed. Dyeing was something that only women could do – it was considered bad luck to dye cloth if a man was around!
• The Celts lived in round houses with thatched roofs – they were made in the shape of circles, rather than with four walls.
• Many Celts were farmers, so they grew their own food and learned where they could gather nuts, berries and honey around their village.
• The Celts also kept their own cows, chickens and other livestock – sometimes the animals would come into their homes at night, as they didn’t have their own stable.
• Groups of houses built on top of hills were called hill forts – people living there could see if any enemies were coming just by looking out over the valleys, and could build strong walls around their hill to help defend it.
• Some people can still speak languages that the Celts spoke, Welsh and Gaelic .

Celts gallery 

• A map of Iron Age Europe
• A roundhouse reconstruction at the Ancient Technology Outdoor Education Centre in Cranbourne, Dorset (Photo Credit: Clive Perrin)
• Celtic coins
• A real Iron Age Celtic sword
• A Celtic knot design
• A reconstructed Celtic village in Gabreta, Germany
• The "Castro de Barona" in Spain, the excavated site of an old Celtic fortress settlement

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.

In Celtic society, people could tell how wealthy you were just by looking down at your feet.  Shoes  would have taken a lot of time and skill to make, so only higher class people would be able to afford them. Celtic women usually wore two types of garments called the léine (a long tunic) and the brat (a cloak). Celtic men also wore léines and brats, but they’d also sometimes wear an inar (a jacket) over truis  (trousers or shorts).

While you often hear about people in past times not taking very good care of themselves, the Celts liked to stay clean, smelling nice, and make an effort with their appearance. Archaeologists have found beautiful jewellery such as torc necklaces, razor blades for shaving, combs and hair accessories that tell us about what sorts of things the Celts would have used.

Celtic priests were called Druids , and the Celts believed that they understood nature and the world around them so well that they predict the future from it. Druids also acted as judges in Celtic society, and even doctors; they knew a lot about the healing properties of plants, and which ones would help someone feel better if they were ill or hurt. The Celts believed that there were gods for every part of life, and that the Druids were the ones who understood how to speak to them and interpret what they wanted.

If there was a battle in Celtic times, anyone could be asked to fight – women as well as men. Celts used iron spears and swords, and they also carried long shields made from wood or iron. Some Celtic tribes would use blue paint to draw designs on their skin before going to battle.

A famous Celt is Warrior Queen Boudicca , who led an uprising against the Romans when they invaded Britain. Histories think that she poisoned herself when her soldiers were losing, and the Romans were about to take them prisoner.

Related Videos

Just for fun...

• Gruesome mini-games to play: Horrible Histories: Romans vs Celts
• "Visit" Celtic Britain : see postcards of the sights, be prepared with travellers' essentials and learn some useful phrases
• Take a Celts, Bronze Age, and Iron Age quiz to show off your knowledge
• Download, print and make a paper model of a roundhouse
• Take the Rotten Romans & Cut-throat Celts quiz
• Build your own stone circle
• Learn to draw the elaborate Celtic knots used for decoration by the ancient Celts
• Make your own Celtic armlet (print the template and the instructions to make it in clay or in card )

Books about the Celts for children

Find out more about the Celts:

• Information about Celtic life in Britain from a British Museum exhibition , with images of beautiful artefacts
• See a map of where the different  native tribes of Britain  lived in the Iron Age
• Information about  Celtic religion  and  Celtic warriors
• Look through a collection of images of reconstructed Celtic roundhouses
• Watch  BBC Bitesize videos about life in Celtic Britain
• Understand more about the Picts in Scotland  in BBC Bitesize videos
• There are some wonderful BBC video clips about different aspects of Celtic life: find out about  Celtic jewellery , Celtic artefacts , Celtic statues , everyday Celtic objects ,  Celtic water gods , Celtic religion , Celtic clothing , Celtic funerals , Celtic burial rites and Celtic burial chambers .
• Watch video clips to understand what a Celtic village looked like, how people lived in Celtic villages , Celtic roundhouse design , dwellings in a Celtic town  and  brochs , Celtic houses in the area which was formerly occupied by Picts and is now Scotland. An excavation at Chysauster, site of a Celtic village in south western Cornwall, shows what the ruins of roundhouses look like today .
• See pictures of beautiful Celtic art
• What did the Celts look like? Find out more about the reconstruction of a Celtic warrior's body found at Lindow Moss in Cheshire , famously known as the Lindow Man. His last meal was also analysed to understand more about his diet!
• Read children's fiction about the Celts
• Iron Age Celts in Ireland
• Find out about Celtic objects and art , including a Celtic sword and scabbard dating from 60 BC

See for yourself

• "Visit" Celtic Britain with a BBC Bitesize interactive guide
• See the Lindow Man at the British Museum
• The Maiden Castle hill fort in Dorchester is the UK’s largest and most complex example of an Iron Age hill fort
• Visit  Danebury Iron Age Hill Fort Local Nature Reserve in Hampshire and download a "story walk" to complete around the site
• Castell Henllys is an important Iron Age archaeological site in north Pembrokeshire, Wales

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23rd November 2021

The Celts, also known as the Iron Age Celts, were people that lived in the present-day Britain and Northern Ireland. Some say that the Celts were the original Brits.

The Celts famously had round houses, with the roof being made of straw in the shape of a cone. The walls of the houses were usually made of mud.

As you can see in the house above, there is a hole at the top of the roof. This is because Celtic houses usually had a fire going in the middle of the house so they could cook animals and keep warm. Surrounding the fire were beds where Celts would sleep.

A lot of the food that they ate was grown or killed close to where they lived. This included vegetables like carrots, onions and turnips and meat like fish, pigs and chickens. Other things they ate include:

• grains (such as wheat)

When did the Celts exist?

They still exist today, with Celtic languages being spoken in Cornwall, Wales, parts of Scotland and Ireland. The Celts started becoming more Roman in the centuries after the Romans had invaded.

Roman invasion

The successful Roman invasion in 47AD changed the way the Celts lived. A lot of Celts moved to Scotland, where the Romans built Hadrian’s Wall. This was because the Romans couldn’t take over Scotland since they would lose too many soldiers.

Home » Celts

The Celts KS2

The Celts KS2 for kids learning at Primary School. Homework help on the history of Celts, the Iron Age facts, Celtic life and Boudicca.

Time: 800BC - 50AD

Who were the Celts?

The Celts were made up of many different tribes, but their way of life was very similar. Living through the Iron Age period, they grew from mid-Europe and slowly spread out over much of the rest of Europe.

The Iron Age

What was celtic life like.

Wherever they settled, Celts would set up farms and small villages. Their houses were called roundhouses made of wood or stone and contained just one big room.

Being very skilled the Celts made all their own iron weapons and tools. Using bronze, silver and gold they loved to create beautiful objects.

The Celts believed that their Gods lived in streams, rocks and trees and they would throw precious objects into a river as a gift to the Gods.

Celtic life

Horrible histories - cut-throat celts.

Celtic Warriors

Being fierce fighters Celtic Warriors and their tribes often fought each other. They would tattoo themselves with blue paint to make themselves look scary.

They had great feasts whenever they won a battle and during these feasts, poet-musicians called bards would tell poems of Celtic heroes.

Who was Boudica?

Boudica’s husband was a King Prasutagus, which therefore made her a Queen. When this Celtic king died, the Romans came and demanded taxes from people living on the land. Queen Boudica was a strong woman and refused, but this led to her being tied to a post and beaten in front of her people.

Angry for revenge, Boudica led an army, the Iceni tribe, to a Roman town called Colchester where she defeated the Romans. With her large strong army, she then attacked London and St.Albans and she won again. All that remained was to defeat the governor and his army and then they would be free of Roman rule.

As strong as Boudica’s army was, the Romans were stronger and pushed them back. The battle was lost. Rather than be captured by the Roman army, Boudica killed herself by drinking poison.

What happened to the Celts?

The Roman Empire grew stronger and stronger and in the end, the Romans conquered most of the land owned by the Celts. Some of the Celtic cultures live on today in Ireland and in remote parts of Scotland and Wales.

Also on Super Brainy Beans

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Free Resources for Learning About the Celts

Published: March 10, 2021

Contributor: Jeannette Tuionetoa

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

If you are exploring a country study about Ireland, you may want to look into interesting Celtic history with these free resources for learning about the Celts.

Those who know me, know that I am extremely intrigued by Irish history and folklore. One semester, I was super late in signing up for classes.

I needed to take a literature course, but the pickings were slim. I grew up in New York and was always intrigued by the Irish folks I saw there. So, when I saw this Irish Studies in Literature course I signed right up.

It was a lot more intriguing than expected, and I was pleasantly surprised. Between the Celtic warrior stories and fairy legends, I found myself not getting enough. 

With two kids, being a working mom and wife as an unconventional student, I was really grateful to learn about a culture I always wanted to learn about.

Quite frankly, I was glad to be forced to do it. I wouldn’t have known about Celtic culture and stories otherwise — because life was too crazy. 

Moving into homeschooling my kids, I get to pick subjects that pique their interest and sometimes mine as well.

My son really enjoyed this unit on the Celts around St. Patrick’s Day . It seemed to be a great time since Celtic culture and language still carry through in Great Britain and Ireland today.

Brief Celtic history and facts.

The Celts were an advanced society that lived during the Iron Age around 600 B.C. to A.D. 43. 

Celts moved away from Europe and toward the islands that make up the United Kingdom today like Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and England.

On these islands, the Celts settled on small kingdoms called tuaths where the kings lived on hilltops.

Remember the infamous and feared Roman Army? Well, the Celts defeated them both in 390 B.C. and 225 B.C., although eventually clans didn’t band together and were taken over. 

Nevertheless, the Celts earned a reputation amongst the Latin and Greek writers of the time for being vicious warriors. They were also skilled horsemen who rode on battle chariots to combat.

Just look at Celtic artwork, and you would see that Celts were portrayed as very aggressive and scary warriors with long beards, long hair, long shields, and long swords.

So, the umbrella over the Celts ranged from barbarian drunkards to skilled metalworkers. My son found both of these super cool.

Explore these free resources for learning about the Celts in your homeschool.

Celtic Unit Study | Kinder Days

Ancient Celts Unit Study: Resources | ANGELICSCALLIWAGS

Celtic History Books For Children | Resources for History

FREE Celts Facts & Worksheets | KidsKonnect

Celts Facts for kids | Kids.Kiddle

Information on the Celts | Primary Homework Help

Celts History and Timeline | The School Run

FREE Celts Presentations in PowerPoint Format | World History.PPPst.com

History of the Celts | DK Find Out

Iron Age Celts Unit Study | Woodland Classroom

Celtic Tribes | Children’s British History

History of the Celts |  Live Science

Celtic Knot Meanings – Old Designs Get Lots of Modern Meanings | Ireland Fun Facts

Resource – Celtic Ireland | HubPages

The Celtic Tribes | English Monarchs

Celtic Britain (The Iron Age – 600 B.C. – A.D. 50) | Britain Express

Ancient Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Isle of Man Celtic Religion | Mr.Donn

Celtic History Unit Co-op. Week 6: Runes | Highhill Education

Learn some facts all about Celts for kids:

10 Interesting Facts About The Celts | Celtic Wedding Rings

Eight Surprising Things You Should Know About the Celts | Ancient Origins

Living Celtic Languages | Maps on the Web

Check out these Celts arts, activities, and crafts to add to your lessons:

How to Make Celtic Cakes -Recipe for Hands-on History | Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool PLUS

STEAM Activity Celtic Knot Design for St. Patrick’s Day | JDaniel4’s Mom

What Is Celtic Art? | DLTK Kids

Celtic Knot Cookies From Ireland | The Educators Spin on It

Celtic Warrior | SuperColoring Pages

FREE Printable Irish and Celtic Symbols Collection | Marcel’s Kids Crafts

How to Draw a Celtic Knot | Easy Drawing Guides

Color a Celtic Knot FREE Worksheet | Education.com

Foldable Celtic Knot Embellishments | The Paper Craft Post

Celtic Glue Pictures | Choices for Children

Celts Themed Word Search | Primary Treasure Chest

The Celts KS2 Unit | Super Brainy Beans

Your kids will enjoy these videos about Celts:

The Rise and Fall of the Celtic Warriors – Philip Freeman | TED-Ed

10 Facts You Didn’t Know About The Celts | Top Lists

Celtic Art History from Goodbye-Art Academy | Philinthecircle

Video – Celtic History & Mythology:- Ancient Ireland | theosophycardiff

Explore Celtic history and the role of mythological or folklore studies in your homeschool.

Myth-Folklore Unit: More Celtic Fairy Tales | Myth and Folklore

Celtic Mythology and Irish Legends | What Do We Do All Day

I will leave you with a Celtic quote that you may want to share with your kids:

“Flaws are beautiful differences that have been wrongly considered.”

― Erin Forbes, Fire & Ice: The Kindred Woods

Here are some tips that may help you spruce up your history lessons at home:

How to Teach History to the Child Who Hates History

Budget-Friendly Ways to Dig Into History

Jeannette Tuionetoa

Jeannette is a wife, mother and homeschooling mom. She has been mightily, saved by grace and is grateful for God’s sovereignty throughout her life’s journey. She has a Bachelor in English Education and her MBA. Jeannette is bi-lingual and currently lives in the Tongan Islands of the South Pacific. She posts daily freebies for homeschoolers!

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1. Key Stage 3 Migration to Britain- The Celts

Subject: History

Age range: 11-14

Resource type: Lesson (complete)

Last updated

22 February 2023

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This lesson is the first of a mini scheme of work on the early groups of migrants that came to Britain and focuses on who the Celts were and what changes they made to Britain. There is also an activity to help build on the skills of analyzing sources/making inferences The entire lesson is on the power point and the information needed for the homework is on the word documents.

The lesson includes:

• a joke and riddle to help settle the students while they write the title and date
• clear smart differentiated learning objectives
• starter- Think, Pair, Share on the reasons why it is important to study migration ending with a class discussion
• Info slide on Britain before it became an island
• Info slide on when and where the Celts came from
• Activity 1- students use the information sheets to create a role play illustrating one aspect of life. 3 groups perform in front of the class. All students write down 3 things from life that they find interesting
• Activity 2- students study and analyze the source closely to make 2 inferences about what was important to the Celts, using the source analysis grid to help them. They then use the answers to check their work.
• Activity 3- with the person next to them, students study 4 of the changes the Celts made to Britain. Students then write down which they think was most important and why. Students then vote with their feet.
• Plenary- students discuss their opinions/views on life in Celtic Britain
• Homework. students create a storyboard about the life of St. Patrick using the information provided.

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A bundle is a package of resources grouped together to teach a particular topic, or a series of lessons, in one place.

Early Migration to Britain Bundle

The Early Migration to Britain Bundle focuses on introducing students to who the Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Vikings were, why they came to the British Isles and what changes they made to life in Britain. It also helps students understand how to approach Thematic History, develop their source analysis skills, rank reasons by importance and also tackle Historians interpretations. There are 6 lessons included in this bundle: 1. The Celts 2. The Romans 3. Resistance to the Romans 4. The Anglo-Saxons 5. The Vikings 6. Who were the first "English" people? This bundle follows the Pearson Exploring History Book 1: Monarchs, Monks and Migrants but is not necessary to have to use these lessons.

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