5 Ways Prehistoric Society Advanced in Iron Age Wales

The period we call Iron Age Wales began in approximately 800 BC after new settlers began arriving in Britain—the Celts. These more advanced people developed iron weapons, better tools, and new methods, such as building hill forts for dwellings and defense. 

Though first arriving around 1,000 BC, by about 600 BC, the Celtic tribes emigrating to Britain from Europe had well-established themselves on the island. Iron Age Wales was in full swing. As the Bronze Age drew to a close, people still utilized some bronze weapons and tools, but the use of iron became more prevalent. The Celts absorbed much of the existing Beaker culture and likely clashed with and eliminated some of them. Those who joined the Celtic society or lived alongside it for a while learned blacksmithing (iron craft) from the newcomers. 

So, who were these newcomers to Britain, and why was their arrival so significant? Research from archeological finds has shown that the Celts weren’t a distinct genetic group but more of a loosely-knitted collection of tribal societies that once covered much of Europe. They had no written language but did share the common tongue of Continental Celtic. Once they got to the British Isles, this language developed into Insular Celtic. Insular Celtic split into two groups: Gaelic and Brythonic, the latter of which eventually gave us Cymraeg (Welsh).

This post is about five ways prehistoric society advanced in Iron Age Wales. 

Iron Age Wales

In addition to their language being the distant ancestor of modern Welsh, another contribution of the Celts to Wales was their fortifications. The Celts lived in roundhouses inside hill forts, which provided better protection and defense. Over 700 hill fort ruins still exist in Cymru today! The tribes also brought better ways of farming with stronger, improved tools over those of wood, such as an iron plow and other implements. These included spades, sickles, scythes, axes, forks, and hedge tools. But that isn’t all. The Celts brought even more changes to what is now Wales, and their art, structures, and wild spirit are still very much with us, which we’ll dive into below.

What time period was the Iron Age in the UK? 

The Iron Age in Britain ran from roughly 800 BC to 43 AD. While people in Britain used iron as early as 1,000 BC with the arrival of the first Celts, people didn’t widely use it until later in 500 – 400 BC. The period ended in 43 AD with the Roman invasion. That began the period known as Roman Britain, or in the case of Cymru, Roman Wales. 

For dominating a period of less than 1,000 years, the Celts made a massive impact. Even over 2,000 years later, we can still find many remains of Iron Age Wales hill forts. You can also find the ruins of many Iron Age settlements in the UK in England, Scotland, and Ireland. Maiden Castle (perhaps from Celtic “mai-dun,” which means a “great hill”) in Dorset is the largest hill fort in Britain. The Celts constructed it around 600 BC. Another major settlement is Traprain Law in East Lothian, Scotland. Covering approximately 40 acres at its peak, the Votadini tribe occupied it.

Who lived in Wales in the Iron Age? 

Mostly, it was the Celts who occupied Wales during the Iron Age. However, that happened gradually from about 1,000 to 600 BC as the Celts absorbed or reduced the existing Beaker population of Britain. By about 600 BC, Beaker culture had ended, and the new Celtic societies had taken over.    

Were the Celts from the Iron Age?

The Celts brought the Iron Age to Britain, so we strongly associate them with the Iron Age. So, yes, they are from the Iron Age in this sense. However, Celtic culture on the European continent actually began earlier than the Iron Age in Wales. They got their start as early as 1,400 BC in the Bronze Age. Archaeologists believe the inception of Celtic society was in the Danube area of Central Europe. So, the complete answer to the question is that, no, the Celts weren’t from the Iron Age. They came from the Late Bronze Age and lived through the Iron Age. 

1. Farming and Tools

As tribes gradually shifted from using bronze to iron for crafting tools, the Celts contributed a remarkable innovation in farming: the iron plow. Before the iron plow, the tool people used for tilling a field was basically a pointed stick that two harnessed animals pulled. The plow wasn’t very durable and only worked well in light, well-drained soils generally found in upland areas. The iron plow made it possible to cultivate the rich soils found in the lowlands. The only drawback to this valuable new invention was that it took a team of eight oxen to pull it. For that reason, the Celts made their fields long and narrow. This way, farmers could turn the team of animals as few times as possible. 

The Celts in Wales grew wheat as their primary and most important crop. They also grew oats and barley. Tribes also continued to hunt and gather. Depending on where they lived, they could forage for nettles, mushrooms, berries, nuts, and crab apples. They also kept bees for honey and mead making. (Fun fact: the Beaker folk were the first in Britain to make mead.) Welsh Celts raised pigs, cows, and sheep, and they hunted deer and boar. 

2. Housing and Settlements

Like the Beaker People, the Celts still lived in a type of roundhouse. Tribes constructed their roundhouses of different materials depending on what was available in the area. For example, they often used wicker for the walls, but in some areas, they used stone if there weren’t a lot of trees nearby. They made the roofs from thatch. People commonly made thatch from straw, but they could also make it from reeds or other plant material—again, like the walls, it depended on the region of Cymru and what grew nearby. 

The most significant change in housing and settlements was the construction of hill forts. A hill fort is generally a walled hut village or similarly well-fortified settlement on a hill or other advantageous land. The oldest hill fort in Wales that we know of is the one found in Dinorben. It dates back to about 1,000 BC. By about 700 BC, Welsh tribes were building hill forts as standard practice. The Celts often built hill forts on high ground, such as a hill, cliff, or promontory (high ground over water). 

Usually, people built a stone wall around the settlement. The wall may have had a wooden portion above the stone with a flat surface where guards, archers, etc., could walk and protect the village. Like the roundhouses, the construction of hill forts varied slightly by region. In southwest Wales, tribes often used a ditch and dyke structure to enclose the settlement by the sea on three sides. 

3. Weapons and War

The Celts loved fighting and engaging in warfare. While they were skilled warriors, their belligerent nature ultimately got the best of them, as the tribes never unified. They were too busy fighting one another! But I digress. 

In Iron Age Wales, the Celts made iron swords, spears, axes, and shields. The change from bronze to iron weapons meant better defense, as iron was slightly stronger. It also has the interesting property that the more times one repairs it, the stronger it gets. An unfortunate drawback is that iron tends to rust. However, iron was more widely available than bronze. Tribes could find it just about anywhere, giving them more independence with resources for weapons.

While the Celts didn’t invent the chariot, they did bring its use to Britain. (In case you were wondering, chariots were first known to be used in northern Syria by the Hurrians, the ancestors of modern Armenians, in 1,700 BC.) Evidence shows that by the late Iron Age, Celtic chariots were widely used in warfare. 

They also improved the saddle by giving it four pommels (the raised part like those on the front of Western saddles): two in front and two behind. The advantage of this was it helped prevent a warrior from getting knocked off his horse so easily.

4. How the Celts Governed Their Tribes

Like the Beaker People who occupied the land before them, Celtic tribes in Wales were usually governed by a warrior king, chieftain, or sometimes a queen. However, each tribe had its own ways of structuring its leadership. At first, they elected their leaders. Rulers didn’t come to their status by birth as they did in later times in the Welsh kingdoms.

A village in Wales usually consisted of an extended family, like a clan. These clans were part of a larger tribe. Children were usually fostered out to other family members rather than being raised by their birth parents. The tribes traded goods with other tribes, as well as the peoples of Europe—after all, the Celtic tribes emigrated from the continent, so it makes sense that they retained valuable connections. 

Women in Celtic tribes were treated more equally to men than in many parts of the world at the time. They often participated in activities that, in other cultures, were restricted to men only. For example, the Romans gave accounts of Celtic women hunting, fighting alongside the men, advising in the running of the village (or, in some cases, being the one running it), owning property, and choosing their husbands. Research from burial sites has pointed to evidence that the early Celts may have traced their ancestry through the female line rather than the male. This practice changed at some point during the Iron Age to the patriarchal structure in later Welsh society. 

5. Religion and Burials

While we don’t know a great deal about the religion of the Bronze Age Beaker People, we know a bit more about the Celts’ religious beliefs. They were polytheists who believed in many gods and goddesses. The deities worshipped also varied by region and tribe. The Celts believed that spirits lived in everything—animals, plants, weapons, tools, everyday household items, and even stones, lakes, mountains, and streams. 

Celtic Head Hunters?

The Celts of Iron Age Wales greatly respected the human head as the seat of spirituality to the point that they would take enemies’ heads in battle and display them. In this way, perhaps they were taking some of the slain person’s power for themselves. Tribes or individuals also sacrificed to deities by leaving valuable items in that god or goddess’s domain, such as a lake or cave. Roman accounts also tell of human sacrifices to the gods. Human remains found in bogs back up this claim. 

Druids

Druids were not only the Celts’ priests but also healers (kind of like Iron Age doctors), teachers, advisors, and judges of sorts. They held very high authority, possibly higher than the king/chieftain. They also had their own schools where they passed down secret religious teachings and the oral traditions necessary to the lay people. 

Diverse Burial Styles

In Iron Age Wales, we see the round barrows of the Beakers transition to the diverse burial practices of the Celts. They made mounds covered with stones in some places. In Wales, this structure is called a “cairn.” They also performed cave burials, constructed burial chambers like people from the Neolithic period, or continued to use round barrows. Practices varied by region and tribe. For instance, some tribes cremated their dead before burial, and others did not. 

You can find a listing of 53 burial chambers from the Bronze and Iron Age in Wales at the People’s Collection Wales. 

What is the oldest settlement in Wales? 

A Neolithic settlement in Llanfaethlu, a village in northwest Ynys Môn (Isle of Anglesey), is the oldest known in Wales. It dates back almost 6,000 years. Archeologists have found the remains of four Neolithic houses at this site. 

Even though the wild and painted Celts are no longer with us in body, their tenacity, strength, and love of their land endure in modern Cymru. The unofficial Welsh National Anthem, “Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau” (Land of My Fathers), indeed conjures the spirit of the ancient Welsh people who came before and forged such a proud nation. 

This post was about five ways prehistoric society advanced in Iron Age Wales.