What Celtic languages are still spoken in the British Isles?

What great monuments of preceltic population culture still exist in the British Isles?

1. Avebury ['eɪvbərɪ] (the village of Avebury has grown up inside the circle – the stones were identified as a henge 200 years ago)

2. The Castlerigg Stone Circle (in the mountain of the Lake District in north-west England. A recent examination of the stones showed that they correspond to the features of the landscape which surrounds them, and many visitors comment on the harmony between the stones and the mountains)

3. The Ring of Brogar (Located in the remote Orkney islands, off the north coast of Scotland, it consists of 60 stones.)

4. Skara Brae [breɪ] (A Stone Age village. On the main island of Orkney (Scotand), was preserved almost intact under sand blown over it by the wind. Now uncovered, it reveals how stone was used to make household furniture. Inside the houses, visitors can see stone cupboards, shelves and even bed.)

5. Unique archaeological site, at Grime’s Graves in Norfolk, is a network of tunnels cut into the rock 10 metres below the surface.

6. The Legananny Dolmen (In Northern Ireland. This massive stone looks as though it could fall off its supporting stones at any minute, but it has stood firm for 4,000 years.)

7. Dromberg Stone Circle (one of the best in the Cork area. Its 17 stones look out over the coast from a specially prepared earth platform. This site, like many others, was used for special ceremonies many centuries before the stones were erected.)

What are the mysteries of Stonehenge?

n is a group of two circles of large standing stones

n situated on Salisbury Plain, southern England

n built from 3100 to 1550 BC 

n exact purpose is unknown. Was used as a burial place, a place to worship the sun, an astronomical calendar, etc.

1. What makes Stonehenge so unusual is the way the stones were squared to shape by pounding with stone hammers, with the lintels held in place by sophisticated mortise-and-tenon joint.

2. The famous Heel Stone over which the midsummer sun passes on the longest day of the year when viewed from the center of the Stones.

3. How Stonehenge was built. The structure consists of a ring of massive stones - some weighing over 50 tonnes - which were transported over long distances and erected using only basic tools.

4. In what precise way it was used as a temple

Sarsen - a block of sandstone

Blue stones - stones forming the inner circle and inner horseshoe of Stonehenge

Mortise-and-tenon joint - a joint composed of a hole cut in a stone and an end of another stone, cut to fit exactly into the hole

When did the Celts arrive in Britain? What Celtic tribes do you know?

6 0 0 – 3 0 0 BC

n the Picts settled in the north of the island

n the Scots settled in Ireland but later moved and settled beside the Picts in the north

n the Britons settled in the southern, central and eastern parts of the island 

What were the Celts like? How did they organize their family life? What gods did they worship?

n The Celts were tall, blue-eyed. They wore long moustaches but no beards.

n Lived in tribes ruled by military leaders, tribal wars were common. Celtic warriors used to cut off the heads of their enemies in battle. They put them on their gates in houses, attached them to their horses’ necks, and hung them from their bells. (spiritual power + blue dye, skins)

n used copper, tin, iron

n cultivated crops, kept cattle, made clothes

n The Celts worshipped nature, especially the Sun, the Sky, the Moon, the Earth and the Sea. They were pagans and believed in many gods and nameless spirits. They sacrificed animals and people. Their religious leaders were called druids.

n The basic unit of Celtic life was the clan, a sort of extended family. The term "family" is a bit misleading, for by all accounts the Celts practiced a peculiar form of child rearing; they didn't rear them, they farmed them out. Children were actually raised by foster parents. The foster father was often the uncle. The lot of women was a good deal better than in most societies of that time. They were technically equal to men, owned property, and could choose their own husbands.

n A Celtic family included the husband, wife and children, grandparents, and single aunts and uncles.

Although the man was usually the head of the family, many women were treated as equals. Women

warriors were not uncommon and in some noble families women became rulers. A family would all

support each other by working together on the farm. 

n Celtic women prepared all the food for their families. Not much is known about Celtic children. Since there were no schools, they probably worked on the farm as soon as they were able to be useful. Little models of dogs have been found in archaeological excavations throughout the Celtic world. They were likely kept as family pets as well as being working dogs.

n Descendants now live in Wales, Scotland and Ireland

Who/What were the druids? What functions were performed by them?

Druids were Celtic religious leaders. The word is derived from Greek ‘drus’ meaning ‘oak’. The druid regarded this tree as sacred. They taught the immortality of the soul and reincarnation. They are thought to have offered human sacrifices. The druids were very important and powerful, because people believed they could do magic. They were also teachers and doctors.

What Celtic languages are still spoken in the British Isles?

Six "living" Celtic languages, of which four have retained a substantial number of native speakers. These are Welsh and Breton, descended from the British language, and Irish and Scottish Gaelic, descended from Old Irish.

The other two, Cornish and Manx, were spoken into modern times but later died as spoken community languages.

Taken together, there were roughly one million native speakers of Celtic languages as of the 2000s. In 2010, there were more than 1.4 million speakers of Celtic languages.

7. What historical events are these dates associated with? 55 BC, 54 BC, 43 AD, 410