hayes, andrew - archaeology of the british isles - 9

8/3/2019 Hayes, Andrew - Archaeology of the British Isles - 9

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9CELTIC TWILIGHT

The unity imposed on Britain by Rome did not outlast the

break-up of the Empire. After the Roman withdrawal from

Britain the power vacuum was quickly filled by numerous

petty rulers. Each strove to carve out and maintain their own

sphere of influence, fighting alike against Germanic settlers

and local rivals. Of higher loyalties there are hintsof anoverlord called Vortigern, the High-ruler, and a national

resistance organized behind the shadowy figure of Arthur. But

one by one, the squabbling states were simply absorbed by the

expanding Saxon kingdoms until the principalities of Wales

alone retained their cultural identity and political

independence. This chapter will consider what was happening

in these parts of the British Isles immediately after the

Romans withdrew.

Anyone who sets off in quest of Arthurs Britain soon

discovers that the reality behind the myth is far different from

the enchanted world of medieval poets. Once the thin veneer

of Romanization was stripped away the Britons reverted to asimpler way of life, which had more in common with that of

their Iron Age ancestors than that of the heroes of medieval

myths.

80 The distribution of Celtic river namesin England, an illustration ofhow the impact of Germanicsettlement decreased from eastto west. Note how it falls into

two main areas:East: only afew of the largest rivers retainCeltic names; West: most ofthe major rivers and some ofthe minor rivers have Celticnames. (Compare with 73, thedistribution of pagan Saxoncemeteries.)

Given the unsettled conditions of post-Roman Britain defence

might be expected to have been a priority. It therefore comes

as a surprise that the defended sites of the period throughout

Wales and the south-west and north of Britain were far less

impressive than those of the Iron Age. They tend to be small,1ha (2cres) or less, and although carefully sited to take full

advantage of natural strongpoints their artificial defences are

relatively weak, no match for a really determined enemy.

However, the surviving literary sources imply that attacks on

strongpoints played little part in British warfare. Obviously

these enclosures were intended to perform very different roles

Celtic twilight 155


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hayes, andrew - archaeology of the british isles - 9

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