Product Description

Half a millennium before the Romans first arrived in Britain an even more ferocious people, the Celts, arrived in what is now south-eastern England. The Celts remained in Britain long after the Romans departed, and although driven into the remoter corners of the island by English invaders the people who remained clung onto their Celtic heritage, and defended their remaining lands against all-comers. In order to defend their lands from other tribes or outside invaders, these people established powerful fortified sites that served as places of refuge in wartime and as administrative and trading centres in times of peace. This book examines these fascinating forts, which varied considerably from the mysterious brochs and duns found in northern Britain, to the hill-top forts ranging in size, to the promontory forts that formed powerful coastal strongholds all around the island's shores.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #142177 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-10
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 64 pages

Customer Reviews

What a load of old rubbish
If you want to learn anything about the Iron Age and Hill Fort do not read this book. I cannot believe anyone is still writing this tired old rubbish. The authors claims date back thirty or forty years and have long since been shown to be incorrect. There was no invasion, by Celts or anyone else at the start of the Iron Age, which is a century earlier then the authors claim. The first hill forts actually appear around 1100 BCE, 500 years earlier then the authors state, which means they are in fact Bronze Age. About the same time, 1000 BCE the first roundhouses appear, again Bronze Age. These, as the name implies, were round and were still being built after 800 CE. The people on the continent built rectangular longhouses. If they did invade Britain then you have to ask where are the longhouses? After all, you would expect them to carry on building the same style of house. There are no longhouses, is the simple answer.

As for what the people of Britain were called the answer is simple, the Britain's. We know this because that is what the Romans called them. Interestingly, the Romans never mentioned them being Celts.

As for these none existent Celts being driven to the remoter corners by the English invaders, the evidence says otherwise. Some of the earliest Anglo-Saxon houses show British influence in their design. This would suggest that the English and the Britain's were working together. In Wales archaeologists discovered a British round house with and Anglo Saxon house nearby. Again suggesting no one was being driven out. DNA testing is now suggesting that what we are looking at was not an invasion by the Anglo-Saxon English but British people calling themselves English, probably to fit in with the new arrivals.

If these authors actually knew anything about this period they are writing about then they would know that what we are looking at is an invasion of ideas rather then of people. What is more is that the style of design we see in the art of this period is not even Celtic as the real Celtic designs are different. The so called Celtic art seen in the book of Kells is a mixture of Irish and English art. Again we see co-operation rather then confrontation. Claiming that there was a Celtic invasion of Britain is like claiming that just because we have Japanese cars and Japanese cameras and Japanese TV's then we must have been invaded by Japan.

I do not know where the authors got their knowledge of this period from, mine was from studying for a degree in archaeology, but it was completely pointless effort. If I could I would give this book a minus 5 star rating. All I will say is do not waste your money on this book.

The Oppidum, the Broch and the Hill-Fort
This book is a short and broad overview of Celtic forts in Britain from the Early Iron Age to the Roman Conquest.
The author describes the various ancient forts found in Britain, from the famous Maiden Castle in England to the Brochs of Scotland.

In between he takes us on a tour of Danesbury in Hampshire, and he describes the less well known Tre'r Ceiri in North Wales. Various other forts, some famous others obscure, are mentioned along the way.

Konstam discusses many aspects of these Celtic Forts, from their form and function, to their construction, settlement and defence. Along the way he includes photographs of the sites, some basic maps, and a number of good colour plates by Peter Bull, which display reconstructions of these sites.

Overall this is a good introductory title. The author knows that the subject can be a potential minefield considering the difficulties of identifying which structures are forts, which date to the Iron Age, and whether Britain was truly Celtic. He does a relativily good job of it all, and should be congratulated.