Iron

We believe that the secret of iron making originated with the Hittites in northeastern Asia Minor, around 1400 BC. Within a couple of hundred years the technology was being spread widely through the Middle East and into barbarian Europe by itinerant ironsmiths.

By 800 BC, in Eastern Europe there lived warrior peoples who had learned how to mine iron. These fierce and hostile tribes rampaged through Europe terrorising communities with their superior iron weapons. They fought their way gradually from the shores of the Black Sea to Ireland, nearly 2000 miles away. These warlords were of Celtic race and they brought to the British Isles not only not only a new technology but also a new style of life that was aggressive and fearful. For the first time in these islands settlements were built to withstand possible attack.

Iron making

To make bronze, ingots of copper and tin had to be heated until the metals became liquid, then the hot fluid was poured into moulds and allowed to cool. Iron could not be treated successfully this way. Even when they succeeded in attaining high enough temperatures to melt iron, the metal, when poured into a mould and allowed to cool slowly, crystallised and became a rigid, brittle substance, unsuited for tools and weapons.

Early smiths discovered that if the iron was heated and reheated over a bed of burning charcoal crystallisation could be checked. They had to hammer the iron every time they heated it, forming it into the desired tool or weapon without the use of a mould. When they had achieved a satisfactory shape the smith heated the finished product once again and plunged it into a bath of cold water. The sudden chilling prevented the iron from developing weak points because of partial crystallisation.

Iron became the most important metal in these times because it was so plentiful and was available to all, not just the wealthy, if you knew how to work it. It was also much stronger than bronze and could be sharpened very effectively. Those who knew about iron saved bronze for jewellery and ornamental use.

The Celts

Wave upon wave of Celtic people came to Scotland and settled here. From the earliest days to the first century BC the whole of south Scotland, and much of the Highlands, was gradually covered in a number of small settlements cut from the woodlands with axes of iron.

Early Settlements

In each of the Celtic settlements there were usually a dozen houses surrounded by a stout timber palisade (wall) to keep out warring neighbours. In the North and the West where there were very few trees the settlements were built of stone, but they were still built to the same design. Often they built Brochs beside their huts into which they would retreat if they came under attack. These were huge circular, stone constructions, much wider at the base with a tiny entrance. The people could herd their livestock into the brochs if necessary, as these were kept stocked with supplies of food. Water supplies, or even a well inside, ensured the survival of a tribe under threat.

During peacetime the Celtic settlers lived very much in the way that the Bronze Age farmers lived. They tended herds and flocks of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. In Scotland, however, they did not use the plough for many centuries.

Hill Forts

In some parts of Scotland the Celts brought a new feature to Scotland’s landscape. On hills and high grounds, Celtic hill forts were built. In the centuries to come more than fifteen hundred would be built, some smaller than a football pitch and others twenty times more than an area enclosing whole villages and towns. These were usually vitrified forts.

Crannogs

The Celts had other very effective ways of making their living places safe. They built Crannogs, which were floating wooden settlements on lochs and moors. A floating platform would be built from wood and upon this floating platform they would build a round hut approximately fifteen metres in diameter. Around the timber walls of the crannogs, there was a walkway, and on the side looking over the loch access for a harbour. A narrow causeway reached the shore. The people who lived here planted crops in nearby fields, and could withdraw to their Crannogs should danger threaten.

The Tribes

The Celtic tribes were very often at war, and from their hilltop towns, forts and crannogs, they fought many battles to settle scores old and new. They raided and plundered the herds and flocks of neighbouring tribes. Although the Celts were never united under one leader, so never governed an empire they did have control of Europe for many hundreds of years. The Celts usually split up into tribes, which, although they shared the same language, shared little else, and were in almost constant conflict. At one time there were sixteen or so of these tribes in Scotland.

During the seven centuries of their dominance in Europe the Celtic tribes made a mark so deep that it would never be erased. In Scotland they pushed the native peoples aside and took over their lands. But the skills they brought with them transformed the way of life here. Although not mentioned above, the Celts were a highly artistic race who left artefacts and in the Highlands of Scotland Pictish Symbol Stones which give us some clues about the way of life of these warlike, but illiterate, tribes.