The Iberians and the Celts - CA. 700 B.C. - 43 A.D.

The Iberians and the Celts

CA. 700 B.C. - 43 A.D.

England's prehistoric inhabitants were the dark - haired Iberians, who settled along the western and southern parts of Britain.

They left behind them the barrows, large mound graves, made of earth or stone. Later these people built the henges, which consisted of great circles of ditches and earthen banks. These circular structures were centres of religious, political and economic power. The most spectacular was Stonehenge, in southwest England. The function of these stones is still a mystery.

Around 700 B.C. the fair - or red - haired, blue -eyed Celts began to arrive from north - west Germany; the Gaelic of the Highlands of Scotland and the Welsh of Wales come from their language.

The women of the Celts sometimes ruled large tribes and fought from their chariots.

The Druids were the priests of the Celts; their temples were groves in the forest and the mistletoe, a t still used to decorate British home at Christmas, was considered holy.