Celii au fost grupuri de triburi antice care foloseau una dintre limbile

celtice (care formeaz o ramur a limbilor indo-europene). Acelai termen este

utilizat pentru a desemna alte popoare a cror limb vorbit este necunoscut
dar care au legturi culturale cu lumea celtic, legturi dovedite prin
descoperiri arheologice.
Limbile celtice fac parte din grupul lingvistic kentum. Teoriile istorice afirm
c aceti factori indic originea comun, dar teorii recente ale influenelor
culturale asupra popoarelor indigene au fost sprijinite de curnd de studii
genetice.
Dei cuceririle romane i-a obligat pe celii continentali s adopte cultura
roman, dezvoltarea cretinismului celtic n Irlanda i Marea Britanie a adus cu
sine o renatere medieval a culturii celtice ntre anii 4001200.
Interesele anticarilor din secolul al XVII-lea au dus la dezvoltarea i afirmarea
termenului celt, i dezvoltarea naionalismului a dus la o revigorare
celtic n secolul al XIX-lea, n zonele n care mai erau nc vorbite limbile de
origine celtic.
Astzi, prin celtic sunt descrise de cele mai multe ori culturile i limbile
din Irlanda, Scoia, ara Galilor, Cornwall, Insula Man i regiunea Bretania
din Frana.
n funciie de zonele geografice celii se mpart n :

celtiberi (n Peninsula Iberic)

britani (n Insulele Britanice)

gali (pe teritoriile actuale ale Franei,Austria , Cehiei i n

sudul Germaniei)
The most characteristic constructions of the Celts were the Castros,
walled villages usually on the top of hills or mountains. They were
developed at the areas occupied by the Celts in the Duero valley and
in Galicia. Examples include Las Cogotas, in vila and the Castro of
Santa Tecla, in Pontevedra.

 The houses inside the Castros are about 3.5 to 5 meters long, mostly
circular with some rectangular, stone-made and with thatch roofs which
rested on a wood column in the centre of the building. Their streets are
somewhat regular, suggesting some form of central organization.
The towns built by the Arvacos were related to Iberian culture, and
some of them reached notable urban development like Numantia.
Others were more primitive and usually excavated into the rock,
like Termantia.
For most of the Gaelic period, dwellings and farm buildings were circular with
conical thatched roofs (see roundhouse). Square and rectangle-shaped
buildings gradually became more common, and by the 14th or 15th century
they had replaced round buildings completely.[31] In some areas, buildings were
made mostly of stone. In others, they were built of timber, wattle and daub, or
a mix of materials. Most ancient and early medieval stone buildings were
of dry stone construction. Some buildings would have had glass windows.[32] It
was common for women to have their own 'apartment' called
a grianan (anglicized "greenan") in the sunniest part of the homestead.[32]
Carrigaphooca Castle (Irish: Caislen Carraig a' Phca), meaning Castle on
the Rock of the Fairy; the word Pca translates as kind ofghost or fairy) is a
ruined five storey rectangular tower house, situated on a steep-sided rock,
located 6 km west of Macroom, County Cork, Ireland.
The Grianan of Aileach (Irish: Griann Ailigh, sometimes
anglicised Greenan Ely) is a group of historic structures atop a 244 metres
(801 ft) hill in County Donegal, Ireland. The main structure is a stone ringfort,
thought to have been built by the U Nillin the sixth or seventh century CE;
[1]
although there is evidence that the site had been in use before the fort was
built. It has been identified as the seat of the Kingdom of Ailech and one of
the royal sites of Gaelic Ireland. The wall is about 4.5 metres (15 ft) thick and 5
metres (16 ft) high. It has three terraces, which are linked by steps, and two
long passages within it. Originally, there would have been buildings inside the
ringfort. Just outside it are the remains of a well and a tumulus.
In scotia urmele civilizatiei celtice se pot observa prin detaliile si amploarea
castelelor si costructiilor vechi.

Castle Stalker (Scottish Gaelic: Caisteal an Stalcaire) is a four-storey tower

house or keep pictures quely set on a tidal islet on Loch Laich, an inlet
off Loch Linnhe.
Edinburgh Castle is an historic fortress which dominates the skyline of the
city of Edinburgh, Scotland from its position on theCastle Rock. Archaeologists
have established human occupation of the rock since at least the Iron Age
(2nd century AD), although the nature of the early settlement is unclear.
Celtic cross (Irish: cros Cheilteach,[1] Scottish Gaelic: crois
Cheilteach, Manx: crosh Cheltiagh, Welsh: croes Geltaidd, Cornish: krows
keltek, Breton: kroaz geltek) is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring
surrounding the intersection; the cross' stem being longer than the other
threes' intersection. It belongs to a wider group of crosses with a nimbus.
[2]
The Celtic Christians combined the Christian crosswith the nimbus to
create high crosses a free-standing cross made of stone which was often
richly decorated.[3] The Celtic Revivalshape, usually decorated with interlace
and other motifs from Insular art, became popular for funerary monuments and
other uses, and has remained so, spreading well beyond Ireland.

The Celts lived in round houses with thatched roofs of straw

or heather. The walls of their houses were made from local
material. Houses in the south tended to be made from
wattle (woven wood) and daub (straw and mud) as there

was an ample supply of wood from the forests. The houses

in the north were made with large stones held together with
clay. The photographs below show both types of houses.
The Celts would light a fire in the middle of the roundhouse
for cooking and
heating. It must have
been very smoky
inside.
Most Celts lived in
scattered farming
communities
surrounded by a banks
with wattle fencing and
a ditch to keep out intruders and wild animals. Sometimes
groups of houses were built on the top of hills. These are
called hill-forts.
Celtic Hill Forts
Sometimes groups of houses were built on the top of hills. These
are called hill-forts. The largest and most complex Iron Age hill
fort in Britain today is Maiden Castle in Dorset.

The vast multiple ramparts enclose an area the size of 50 football

pitches!