People of Ancient Britain History of Britain

People of Ancient Britain History of Britain (история Британии) 

Long ago, the British Isles were not isles at all. Britain was part of the European continent: the English Channel did not exist and East Anglia merged into the Netherlands. Then, about 10,000 years ago - when the last Ice Age had ended, when the bones of the last mammoth had sunk into the mud of the Thames valley, when the climate grew warmer - new rivers and seas were formed and Europe was slowly formed into its present shape.

The people of Britain, like their cousins оn the continent, were simple hunters who lived оn the flesh of wild animals, which they shot with flint-tipped arrows or caught in traps. They killed fish in the estuaries and shallow rivers with spears made from the antlers of deer. They gathered wild fruit, nuts and honey, and probably ate snails, caterpillars and other grubs. They did not build permanent houses, but moved from place to place, sheltering in caves in cold weather.

The people of Britain lagged behind the people of certain warmer lands in their development. While they were still living in caves and scratching about for insects to eat, the Egyptians were building pyramids and writing literature.

Of all the stages between the cave and the skyscraper, perhaps man's greatest leap forward was taken when he became а farmer. The Stone Age farmer of about 5,000 years ago had to clear patches in the forests which covered most of Britain that was not barren heath or swamp. Не cut down trees with stone axes, burned off the scrub, and tilled the ground with а stone-headed hoe. Не kept half-wild cattle and pigs in the forest, where they could find their own food, and in treeless parts, like northern Scotland, he kept sheep. The people who grew grain in southern England had flint sickles to reap the harvest.

By the end of the Stone Age, about 2,000 BC, metal was already being used. The Beaker people, who are named after the clay mugs, or 'beakers', they made, also used bronze knives. They came to Britain from northern Europe, and started the building of the stone monuments at Stonehenge and Avebury (Эйвбери).

А simple plough also appeared about this time. It was little more than a spike to rip up the ground: the field was ploughed twice, the second time at right angles to the first. These improvements allowed people to settle in villages, where they stored food for the winter in underground larders. In a few places, like the Orkneys, houses were built of stone, and their remains can still be seen, complete with stone shelves and bedsteads.

Mining and trade were growing during the Bronze Age (roughly 2,000 to 500 BC). Copper was imported from Ireland and tin from Cornwall - the two metals from which the harder alloy, bronze, was made. Amber was imported from the Baltic and pottery from the Mediterranean area. Carts were made for moving heavy goods.

The people of the Wessex (Уэссекс) culture (southern England) developed the most advanced society Britain had seen. They used ornaments of gold and had complicated funeral ceremonies, with burials in round 'barrows', or mounds. Building continued at Stonehenge, which was а kind of temple, perhaps having some connection with the changing seasons. The stones seem to be lined up with the sun at different times of the year, and some experts have suggested that the whole building was а kind of astronomical clock.

About 500 BC, the inhabitants of Britain were learning how to smelt iron. Iron ore was easier to obtain, as it often lay close to the surface and was far more common than copper or tin. Although good tools were made of bronze, iron tools were much cheaper.

The beginning of the Iron Age coincided with the arrival of new people from the continent, mainly from France. They were the Celts. Archaeologists have discovered at least three Celtic groups, whom they call А, В and С people. The С people, the last and most advanced group, were the people known to the Romans as the Belgae (they did indeed come from roughly the area of Belgium). They were not 'pure' Celts, having some German blood. In fact there was less difference between Celtic and Germanic people in ancient times than some modern 'Celts' would like to think.

During the Iron Age large forts, with walls of earth reinforced by timber and stone, were built in many parts of the country. People from the nearby countryside could shelter there when enemies threatened. The largest of the English hill forts - in fact the largest in Europe - is Maiden Castle in Dorset. Standing on its great earthen ramparts, on а silent wintry afternoon if possible, some faint sense of Iron Age Britain can still be felt.

An Iron Age house was found by archaeologists at Little Woodbury, in Wiltshire. It was built on the plan of two circles, one inside the other. The family lived inside the smaller circle and the farm animals were stabled in the outer ring. The men of the family smelted their own iron, from which they made sickles for harvesting. The women made clothes, spinning and weaving their cloth, and clay cooking pots. They probably also pounded grain into flour.

We know of many types of Iron Age house, and round buildings, which are simpler than walled houses, have been found in many places. The mysterious round stone towers of northern Scotland belong to the late Iron Age.

In spite of the evidence of the hill forts and stone towers, life in prehistoric Britain was not always violent. The arrival of new immigrants must have caused problems, but they usually came in smallish groups and soon mingled with the native population. It was never а case of the natives being overwhelmed by more aggressive and more advanced invaders. The Celts, who were of mixed race themselves, married natives whose ancestors had also been immigrants from northern Europe and from Spain.

Britain was unknown to the more civilized parts of Europe until it was visited - 'discovered' in fact - by Pytheas (Пифей), an educated merchant from Marseille (Марсель), in about 320 BC. Pytheas wrote the first description of the people, whom he called Celts. They were gentle folk, he said, and welcomed visitors.

The opinion of Pytheas is surprising. The next educated visitor to Britain described the British as а fierce race, savages. But that visitor came in no friendly spirit. His name was Julius Caesar.  

Люди  древней Британии

Много лет назад  Британские острова вообще не были островами. Британия была частью Европейского континента: Ла-Манш не существовал, Восточная  Англия и Нидерланды были соединены. Затем, около 10000 лет назад, когда последний Ледниковый период закончился. Кости последнего мамонта погрузились в грязь долины Темзы, когда климат потеплел, были сформированы новые реки и моря, и Европа медленно приняла настоящую форму.

Население Британии, как их «двоюродные братья» на континенте, были простыми охотниками, которые жили за счет мяса диких  животных, которых они поражали стрелами с кремниевыми наконечниками  или ловили в западнях. Они добывали рыбу в устье и на мелководье при  помощи копий сделанных из рогов  оленя. Они собирали дикие фрукты, орехи и возможно улиток, гусениц  и других личинок. Они не строили  постоянных домов, но передвигались  от места к месту, прячась в  пещерах во время холодной погоды.

Люди Британии запаздывали в развитии в отличие  от людей тёплых районов. Пока они  жили в пещерах и выцарапывали насекомых для пищи, египтяне строили  пирамиды и создавали литературные произведения.

На всех стадиях  между пещерой и небоскрёбом, возможно, самым большим шагом  человека вперед было, когда он стал фермером. Фермеру каменного века приходилось очищать клочки леса, который покрывал большую часть  территории Британии, не являвшуюся болотом  и пустошью. Он срубал деревья при  помощи каменных топоров, сжигал кустарники и разрыхлял землю деревянной мотыгой с каменным наконечником. Он держали полудиких свиней и  рогатый скот в лесу, где они  могли найти себе пищу. В безлесных  участках, таких как северная Шотландия, он держал овец. Люди, выращивавшие хлеб в южной Англии, имели серпы  для сбора урожая.

К концу Каменного  века, приблизительно 2000 до н.э., металл уже использовался. Также уже использовал бронзовые ножи. «Гончарный народ», который назван так по имени глиняных кружок, или гончарных изделий, которые они делали, также пользовался бронзовыми ножами. Эти люди прибыли в Англию из северной Европы, и начали постройку каменных памятников в Стоунхендже и Эйвбери.

Простой плуг также  появился приблизительно в это время. Он был немного больше чем пика, чтобы разрыхлять землю: поле пахали дважды, второй раз под прямым углом  к первому. Эти усовершенствования позволили людям селиться в деревнях, где они хранили продовольствие в течение зимы в подземных  кладовых. В нескольких местах, таких  как Оркни, дома были построены из камня, и их остатки, наполненные каменными полками и остовами кроватей, все еще можно увидеть.

Горная промышленность и торговля росли в течение  Бронзового Века (от 2000 до 500 до н.э.). Медь ввозилась из Ирландии, а олово из Корнуолла - это два металла, из которых делали более твердый сплав - бронзу. Янтарь ввозился из Балтики, и глиняная посуда - из Средиземноморья. Для перемещения тяжелых товаров делались телеги.

Люди Уэссекской культуры (южная Англия) развили наиболее продвинутое общество, которое видела Англия. Они использовали золотые украшения и имели сложные церемонии похорон - могильники в круглых 'холмах', или насыпях. Продолжилось строительство в Стоунхендже, который был чем-то вроде храма, и возможно имел какую-то связь со сменой времен года. Похоже, что камни положены в линию, соответствующую положению солнца в разное время года. Некоторые эксперты предположили, что здание являлось подобием астрономических часов.

Приблизительно 500 до н.э. жители Англии узнали, как плавить железо. Железную руду было гораздо легче добывать, поскольку она часто лежала близко к поверхности, и встречалась чаще, чем медь или олово. Хотя из бронзы делались хорошие инструменты, железные инструменты были дешевле.

Начало железного  Века совпало с прибытием новых  людей с континента, главным образом  из Франции. Это были кельты. Археологи  обнаружили по крайней мере три кельтские  группы, которых они называют народы А, В и С. Люди группы С, последняя и наиболее продвинутая группа, были народом, известным римлянам как Белги (они действительно прибывали приблизительно с территории Бельгии). Они не были 'чистыми' кельтами, так как имели примесь немецкой крови. Фактически в древние времена различие между кельтами и германцами было меньшим, чем хотелось бы думать некоторым современным 'Кельтам'.

В течение железного  века во многих частях страны были построены  большие крепости, с валами, укрепленными древесиной и камнем. Люди из близлежащей  сельской местности могли укрываться там, во время нападения врагов. Самая  большая из английских крепостей  на холмах - фактически самая большая  в Европе - это Замок Девы в  Дорсете. Стоя на его больших глиняных валах по возможности в тихий зимний день, всё ещё можно почувствовать какое-то легкое ощущение железного века Англии.

В Литтл Вудбери в Уилтшире археологами был найден дом железного века. Он был построен в виде двух кругов, один внутри другого. Семья жило внутри меньшего круга, фермерские животные содержались во внешнем кольце. Люди семейства выплавляли своё собственное железо, из которого они делали серпы для сбора урожая. Женщины делали одежду, пряли и ткали ткань, делали горшки из глины. Они, вероятно, также мололи зерно в муку.

Мы знаем о  многих типах домов железного  века. Круглые строения, которые  были более простыми, чем здания со стенами, найдены во многих местах. Таинственные круглые каменные башни  северной Шотландии принадлежат  к последнему периоду железного  века.

Несмотря на свидетельства в виде крепостей  на холмах и каменных башен, жизнь  в доисторической Англии не всегда была полна насилия. Прибытие новых  иммигрантов должно быть создавало проблемы, но они обычно прибывали небольшими группами и вскоре смешивались с местным населением. Никогда не было случая, чтобы местные племена были разгромлены более агрессивными и более продвинутыми захватчиками. Кельты, которые являлись смешанной расой, женились на аборигенах, чьи предки также были иммигрантами из северной Европы и из Испании.

Англия была неизвестна более цивилизованным частям Европы, пока её не посетил – 'открыл' фактически - Пифей, образованный торговец из Марселя приблизительно в 320 до н.э. Пифей создал первое описание людей, которых он назвал кельтами. Он говорил, что они были благородным и гостеприимным народом.

Мнение Пифея удивляет. Следующий образованный человек, посетивший Британию, описал британцев как жестокую расу, дикарей. Но этот человек явился не с дружественными намерениями. Его звали Юлий Цезарь. 

Britain conquered by the Romans History of Britain (история Британии) 

In 55 ВС Britain was invaded by Julius Caesar, а Roman general and governor of Gaul (France), soon to be, in all but name, the first Roman emperor.

At that time the city of Rome was about 700 years old, but the Roman empire was much younger. As late as 211 ВС Rome had narrowly escaped destruction by the Carthaginian general, Hannibal. But Hannibal's defeat left Rome without а serious rival, and by Caesar's time it controlled an empire that stretched from Spain to the Near East.

Two places more different than imperial Rome and Celtic Britain could hardly have existed. Roman society was urban, with grand public buildings built of marble. Britain was а country of mud huts, with no settlement large enough to be called а town. An upper-class Roman lived in greater comfort than any Britisher before the 15th century. His house even had central heating.

The Romans, as heirs of the civilization of Ancient Greece, were interested in art, philosophy and history (Caesar himself wrote good military history in simple prose). The British could neither read nor write. They were not savages, and in some ways Celtic art was superior to Roman, or so it seems to us, but the Romans naturally thought of them as hopelessly primitive barbarians. То the Romans - and to many non-Romans too - there was but one worthwhile form of society, and that was their own. The only useful function of other peoples was to contribute to the glory of Rome.

Britain was а mysterious isle to the Romans. But Caesar knew it contained valuable minerals, and he knew also that the British were helping their cousins in Gaul against Rome. Не decided on invasion.

Caesar had another motive - personal glory; yet his invasion nearly ended in disaster. Landing on an open beach near Deal, the Romans fought their way ashore, beat the assembled British, and accepted tributes from some of the chiefs. But а storm wrecked their ships and they had to scramblе back to Gaul, having advanced little farther than the Kent coast.

Next year Caesar came again, this time with а much larger expedition - five legions (about 25,000 men) and 800 ships. The British tribes sank their differences, uniting under the leadership of Cassivellaunus, and it took some time for Caesar to work out а way of dealing with the British chariots. The Romans were not used to this form of warfare, as chariots were obsolete in Gaul.

But Cassivellaunus failed to stop the attack. Caesar advanced through Kent, crossed the Thames at London, and marched through the thick forests of Essex towards Colchester. When an attack on the Romans' naval camp failed, the British decided to come to terms. Caesar took hostages and imposed an annual tax (we do not know for how long the British paid it). Then he sailed back to Gaul.

The British had been defeated but not conquered, and for nearly а hundred years afterwards no Roman army appeared in Britain. Caesar's expeditions had shown that Britain would not be conquered easily.

Between 54 BC and AD 43, the date of the Roman conquest, Lowland Britain prospered. The country enjoyed the benefits of trade with the great Roman empire without the disadvantages of Roman rule. The British came to know the Romans well. Roman merchants travelled to Britain, and Roman influence was strong. Many British leaders were pro-Roman. In some respects, Britain was 'Romanized' before the Roman conquest.

In AD 43 the Romans landed at Richborough, Kent, and advanced steadily north and west. They were chiefly interested in the fertile south-east, but they soon found that the minerals they wanted (lead, copper, etc.) lау in the mountainous parts. They found, too, that having conquered part of Britain it was hard to draw а line and say: that is where we stop.

The British were still not united, and the main opponent of the Romans, а clever and determined king of the Catuvellauni named Caratacus, was unable to create а national coalition. Не did his best, and when defeated in central England he retired to south-east Wales, where the Silures resisted the Romans more fiercely than any other people. Then, as Roman strength built up in the West Country, Caratacus fell back to Snowdonia, where the Ordovices kept up the struggle. After а hard battle, the Rоmans captured their stronghold near Caersws, and all of Caratacus's family were taken prisoner. Не fled to Brigantia (northern England), but the queen of the Brigantes favoured Rome and had him arrested. Не was sent in chains to Rome. There, he was triumphantly displayed before the people as а symbol of the Roman victory. Caratacus looked in wonder at the rich and powerful city. 'Why', he asked his captors, 'with all these great buildings, do you still want our poor huts?'

The Romans brought their campaign in Wales to а conclusion by conquering the Isle of Anglesey, off North Wales. Anglesey was а centre of the cult of the Druids, а class of priests (or witchdoctors) who had great influence among the British and knew that Rome's victory would mean their deaths. The Romans, who were tolerant of most local customs, were determined to destroy the Druids, as they disliked their ritual of human sacrifice.