1. IRON AGE AND CELTS 1 st Yr

2. Iron age in ireland Began in Ireland 500 BC New metal – iron – used Strong and sharper tools and weapons than before Brought over by Celts Farmers and warriors Came from central Europe Origins – Hallstatt in Austria, La Tene in Switzerland

3. Sources for our knowledge Archaeological evidence in Ireland and La Tene Ancient Greek and Romans wrote about the Celts Early Christian monks in Ireland wrote about them Writing comes to Ireland with Christianity

4. Tuath Celtic Ireland organised into 150 kingdoms called Tuath Each Tuath ruled by a King or Ri The king’s successor was elected Usually came from the Derbfine Derbfine – Royal family

5. The nobles Next in importance Made up of warriors and Aos Dana Warriors – defended the tribe Fought with iron weapons Fought naked and without armour Given land by the king Poor farmers rented land off them

6. Aos Dana People with special skills Judges – unuderstood the Brehon Law Brehon Law – The Irish system of law Druids – Very important priests File – a poet Bards – sang and recited poetry at feasts

7. Craftsmen Very important to the Tuath Made weapons and tools Swords, spears Spades, axes and hammers Also made jewelry from bronze and gold Celtic jewelry famous for it’s spirals E.g. Tara Brooch Carpenters also very important

8. Farmers Below the nobles Farmers who rented land from nobles Provided the food for the society Part of the rent was the food they produced But often very poor

9. Slaves Captured in wars or raids on other tribes No rights, no pay Lowest part of Celtic society

10. Women in Celtic society Well respected Could own property Equal rights to men But still spent most of their time spinning, weaving, cooking Queen Maeve of Connaught – famous ruler

11. Clothes Celts – very fashionable Dyed their long hair blonde with limewater Nobles had long moustaches Men wore knee-length tunics with belt Poor men – trousers

12. Women’s clothes Women – ankle length tunics Tunics made from linen or wool Cold weather – wore woolen cloaks Cloaks pinned at shoulder with Celtic brooch Clothes dyed in bright colours Make-up made from berries Earrings, torcs, bracelets and brooch

13. Farming Farmers as well as warriors Reared cows and sheep People’s wealth measured by cattle Grew barley and wheat

14. Food Similar to Neolithic and Bronze Age Bread and porridge from wheat and oats Ale made from barley Milk from cattle Roast pig – important at feasts

15. Homes Lived in a community Different types of settlement have been found

16. Raths Forts surrounded by ditch or walls of earth Fort built of time Stone forts – cashels Many families lived inside fort Animals grazed outside Brought in at night Underground passages – souterrains Storage? Hiding Place?

17. Crannog

18. Man-made islands in lakes Layers of mud and stones used to make mound above water Wooden fence surrounding Houses built inside Accessed by wooden boats or… …stepping stones

19. Hillforts

20. Bigger Raths Built on a hill Used for special ceremonies or markets Sometimes HQ of king E.g. Tara in Co. Meath

21. Promontory Fort

22. Promontory Forts Forts on clifftop For better protection Stone walls E.g. Dun Aengus on Aran Islands But most people just lived in Raths

23. Religion Pagans - Worshipped many gods Main god – Dagda Boann – River goddess – famous name? Lugh – God of war Didn’t build temples Believed gods were everywhere in nature Wells and woods – sacred places

24. Religious Festivals Religious festivals – very important Druids held special rituals, even sacrifices E.g. 1 st Aug – Lughnasa – Lugh honoured Imbolg – 1 st Feb – Goddess Brigid Brigid – Goddess of Spring and lambs Praying for good growth

25. Afterlife Cremated the dead Buried ashes in ground Belongings found with the remains What does this tell us?

26. Ogham Earliest form of writing in Ireland Found on stones marking graves Lines carved into the stones The names of the dead?

27. Celts become Christian 5 th C (400’s) Christianity arrived in Ireland Celts converted Druids lost their power But pagan traditions mixed with Christianity Samhain – Nov 1 st – Celtic festival to the dead Holy wells? Feb 1 st ?

28. Recap – life of celts Fashion and jewelry Iron weapons Food and farming Homes – Raths, hillforts, promontory forts, crannog Pagan gods and festivals Afterlife Ogham