Page 70 - All About History - Issue 28-15

Caesar’s invasion of Britain

The First Invasion The Ancient Britons

The brutish, half-naked people Caesar met
Caesar found that a raid of Britain meant struggling not only appeared to be savages, but their warrior
society was surprisingly sophisticated
against the island’s inhabitants, but also its weather
The term ‘Celtic’ was first used to describe pre-
Roman Britain in the 18th century, and has been used,
With a beachhead established, Caesar set up erroneously, in popular culture ever since. The Iron-Age
camp. Still without cavalry, his options were inhabitants of the British Isles weren’t Celtic in origin
limited. His 500 mounted troops should have set at all, but indigenous – the Celts being the so-called
barbarian tribes that dominated much of mainland
sail that morning but had been penned in by the Europe. They also weren’t, despite the horror stories
tides. It would be four days before they’d attempt that circulated about them in Rome, uncivilised savages.
the crossing, but a sudden violent squall forced Ancient Britain was a fertile land rich in minerals, and
mining and farming were carving up the countryside in a
them back to Gaul, destroying many of the ships at
way we would recognise today. Great hill forts peppered
Deal in the process. Caesar was stranded. Lacking the landscape, keeping watch over the neatly ploughed
supplies to repair their ships, the Romans ventured fields. Behind their terraced stockades, embryonic towns
complete with streets, places of worship, forges and
inland to scavenge. It was deadly work. The men
workshops were mushrooming. From the latter came
were ambushed constantly by an enemy that spectacular metalwork, not just swords and spears, but
struck as suddenly as it vanished. intricately adorned jewellery, hunting horns and mirrors.
Three weeks of relentless rain followed, grinding The ancient Britons also weren’t, in any modern sense
of the word, a nation. Instead,
down the spirits of the Mediterranean invaders as Made in Middlesex in the island was inhabited by
the 1st century BCE, this
they desperately patched up their ships. When the bronze ornament depicts a approximately 27 different
n 26 August 55 BCE, Caesar gave the order weather lifted, a huge force descended on them. wild boar, an animal most and often-warring
for Roman troops to land on British soil for “A battle followed,” Caesar wrote, “and the enemy, Ancient Britons would tribal groups,
have feasted on ranging from the
the first time. Having waited for hours near unable to stand long against the onset of our Caledones in the
Dover for his cavalry to arrive, he decided troops, turned and fled.” The Britons were not a Scottish highlands
Oto go ashore without them. literate people and their version of events has long to the Cantiaci in
Kent, who Caesar
Ordering his fleet north east, he found since faded. Whether Caesar’s account is accurate had encountered,
a suitable beach six miles away, at Deal. or propaganda is unclear. However, come with each tribe
The entire time he was watched from the next morning, his entire army led by a warrior
king or queen.
land by the army the Britons had sent to was back in Gaul.
meet him, following him to the shingle
shoreline he now anchored his galleys off.
Caesar could now see his new enemy
up close. Although often mistakenly
described as Celtic, these Ancient Britons
weren’t related to the Indo-European tribes like
the Gauls. These were an indigenous people,
genetically connected to the Basques of northern
Spain. Standing a head taller than the Romans,
the warriors wore very little, instead adorning their
bodies with blue war paint possibly made from the
plant woad, but much more likely oxidised copper.
Some were on horseback, others in nimble chariots,
the rest on foot. All, though, had come to fight.
As the Romans tried to disembark, the tribesmen
made good use of the stones on Deal’s beach. The
slingshot was their primary hunting weapon, and Foremast
as Caesar’s legionaries struggled over the sides of Madefromflax,thissmallersailwouldhave
their galleys, stone missiles rained down on them. provided part of the ship’s propulsion.
Caesar ordered a barrage in response. Archers
drove the defending slingers backwards and the
way to shore was clear, but still his troops faltered, Ram
spooked by the warriors who waited on land. But Strengthened with bronze,
then a standard bearer jumped into the water thiswasusedtoattack
shouting: “Leap down men, unless you want to othershipsinanavalbattle.
abandon the eagle to the enemy.” To a Roman
soldier, his legion’s standard was a symbol of Hull
martial pride, and its loss a profound disgrace. Built from pinewood, its
So, the legionaries followed him. They were set tendency to absorb water
upon as soon as they were ashore with clubs, made the boats very heavy,
making them vulnerable to
spears and swords. Savage hand-to-hand fighting shipwreck in storms.
ensued before the battered Romans could get into
formation and repel the wild attacks.
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