Archaeological excavations today provide the main source of information about the life of the Celts, their culture, religion, crafts. Written data were preserved by Greek and Roman authors, works of early medieval chroniclers tell about ancient Celts, preserved proper names, toponymy data, folklore.
United people
Celt is a representative of an ancient tribe that lived in the first millennium BC on the vast territory of Western Europe. The Celts are descendants of a single prehistoric Indo-European people.
From this ancient race Germans, Slavs, Persians, Latins, later extinct Goths, and also Indians subsequently formed. Then their descendants appeared, nations formed, for example, the Slavs were divided into three groups: the western - Czechs, Slovaks, Poles; eastern - Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians; southern - Bulgarians, Croats, Serbs, Macedonians. The Celts are the ancestors of modern Scots, Irish, Breton, Welsh.
A genetically united Indo-European people who lived five thousand years ago on the territory of Russia (modern Krasnodar Territory), by the beginning of the Bronze Age, had created not only bronze weapons, but also invented a wheel and domesticated a horse. With new weapons, provisions on carts, fast cavalry, they easily captured new territories of Europe and Asia, thus becoming subsequently one of the most common groups of peoples on earth.
Celtic language
In Western Europe, a new community of Indo-Europeans formed - the Celts with a center in the Alps. Therefore, the Celt is a native speaker of the Alpine language group. Their most numerous people are called Gauls. During the Roman conquests, their language was strongly influenced by Latin, which is why it partially disappeared from everyday life. Later, the Celtic tribes living in the territory of modern France, were subjected from the north by the invasion of the Germans (Frankish tribe).
In Britain, due to the remoteness of the Foggy Albion, the Celts preserved their culture and language from enslavement by the Romans. The Celts' occupation of the Foggy Albion dates back to the beginning of the Iron Age (about 600 years BC). Celt is a member of a disparate group that did not recognize itself as a single people.
Druids
Three thousand years ago, the religious cult of the Druids was born, which possessed sacred immunity. The emergence of a class of priests is associated with the need to manage Celtic society. Stones placed vertically served as an altar. In the XIX century, among scientists, the view was established that Stonehenge was their sanctuary.
Mythology
Their rich cultural heritage has been passed down by word of mouth for centuries, legends and traditions have existed in several ways. Like most ancient peoples, the Celts were pagans and believed in the afterlife. When buried with the deceased, many objects were left, for example plates, weapons, tools, jewelry, carts with horses and carts were not excluded. The Celts were sure: everything that was needed in this world would be useful in the afterlife.
The bulk of mythology was based on a belief in the transmigration of souls, during battles this confidence helped soldiers to be brave and selfless, and reduced their fear of death. In difficult life vicissitudes, human sacrifice came to the rescue. The gods of the Celts: Taranis, Meadow, Ogmios, Teutat, Cernunnos, Belenus, Jesus, Brigantia.
Military equipment
Celt is a great warrior, living robberies and raids, feuding with the Romans and relatives. The Celts did not have a single political center, that is, there were no kings, in each group only the leader of the clan had power. Information about the Celts, since they did not have their own written language, was first recorded by the Romans two thousand years ago when they invaded Great Britain. Celt for the Roman is a backward barbarian, standing lower, lagging behind in science and crafts, knowing little and knowing how, while they describe themselves as enlightened people.
Perhaps, in the eyes of the Romans, the Celts had no idea about military strategy, but their equipment and weapons were not at all inferior to the Roman ones, they were excellent gunsmiths.
In the battle of the Gaul with the Roman, it would be difficult for an outside observer to recognize who is who on the battlefield. The youths in the helmets of the Romans were not Romans - they were Gauls. The heads of the Romans were decorated with bronze hats with horse tails. Later, they copied from the Gauls a more practical construction of helmets with shields on their cheeks.
The shields of the Celts were of human height, and their decoration in the form of a convex figure of bronze served not only for beauty, but also for protection. The Romans copied this find, as well as other types of weapons, giving them Celtic names.
Celt for the Roman was the creator of a new technological achievement - a war chariot. Maybe this is strange, but it was surprising to the Romans. Some words are borrowed from the Celts, for example, “league” (the word “horse”), has turned into “cavalry” and “cavalier”.
Three thousand years before the advent of Rome, the ancient Celts created several grandiose monuments: stone fortifications, massive tombs and the famous monument of the Ancient World Stonehenge. We do not know how they erected all these structures, but even after five thousand years they still stand on the earth, striking the descendants with their power, and are proof of the culture of the ancient people.