Sheshen Eceni: Iceni Info Page

The Iceni were a British (Iron Age) Celtic tribe who occupied the areas of Norfolk, Suffolk and parts of Cambridgeshire during the Iron Age. They were wealthy farmers who spent their lives on the rich and fertile farmlands of East Anglia cultivating and harvesting crops, managing woodland and tending herds of animals such as sheep, cattle and pigs. Most families would have owned several horses, as to the Celts horses’ symbolised great wealth.
fig1:The Iceni village: Cockley Cley Norfolk

In Iron Age Britain people lived in small countryside settlements, a typical Iceni village being; a group of roundhouses made of timber, with walls of wattle and daub and thatched roofs of grasses, reed or straw. The Icenian rulers were extremely wealthy and powerful – and although their palace interiors were very plain in appearance they contained elaborate portable furnishings, and fittings which enabled the royal household to move with great ease to different locations and set up new power bases throughout their land.

Compared to Boudica’s aristocratic lifestyle - life was extremely tough for most Celtic women as they would have spent much of their time at home, and on the land, bringing up their families taking care of the animals, harvesting crops as well as many other household chores such as; grinding the corn, preparing, and cooking food, and also spinning the wool to use on the loom in order to make their clothes.

Celtic people were deeply religious - worshipping many gods – their devout beliefs formed an important part of their everyday lives. To express their devotion to their gods the Celts made regular offerings by either placing them in rivers or deep pools and sacred groves, and during times of great hardship and fear they often deposited a large number of precious objects in deep pits in the ground. Items such as gold torcs, joints of meat, and large earthenware vessels filled with coins were often buried in deep shafts underground.

The ‘Celts’ were a warlike race of people who dominated Europe for 500 years. From 800 BC Celtic civilization spread rapidly through mainland Europe and across the British Isles. By 400 BC the Celts had become the most powerful people in Europe – an invading Celtic force of Senones led by Brennus very nearly succeeding in conquering Rome. After the Romans surrendered the Celtic chieftains demanded a hefty ransom before agreeing to leave. Following this humiliating and embarrassing defeat Rome’s hierarchy wanted revenge – realizing that the Celts now posed a constant threat to their civilization they immediately launched their military offensive, this long term campaigns sole objective was to crush and subjugate the Celts.

The two great banks directly in front of you are the ramparts of an Iron Age fort. It was built by the ancestors of Queen Boudica, about 500 years before she led the revolt against the Romans in AD 60. Thetford was a tribal centre of the Iceni and the fort controlled access into their territory. It was built across the line of the Icknield Way, overlooking the fords across the Rivers Little Ouse and Thet, at a point where it dominated both major land and river routes. (Source: English Heritage Public Information Board)

It is believed that the first wave of Celts began arriving in Britain and Ireland as early as 500 BC.

Following the defeat of the Gallic Chieftain Vercingetorix and his forces at Alesia in 52 BC by the Romans, the Gallo-Begic Celtic tribes began fleeing across the channel in their masses largely to escape Roman retribution, and to found new societies in Britain and Ireland. The chieftains Cassivellaunus (of the Catuvellauni) and Commius (of the Atrebates) are both believed to have departed from Gaul in order to carve out new kingdoms for themselves in Britain.

Although the artefacts, carvings and engravings uncovered are evidence that Celts left their mark all over Europe, we only have Roman and Greek historians biased accounts of their ancient culture.
Out of six million inhabitants of Gaul, a total of one million Celts were killed during Julius Caesar’s campaigns. Some Gallic tribes were completely wiped out by the Roman legions, including several Germanic tribes.

This is what (British) chariot warfare is like. First of all they drive about in every direction hurling their javelins: the fear engendered by the horses and the din of the wheels is usually enough to disorder the enemy ranks. Then they slip between the squadrons of cavalry and leap off their chariots to fight on foot. Meanwhile the chariot drivers gradually withdraw from the battle and position the chariots in such a way that if the fighting men are overwhelmed by enemy numbers they can quickly return to them. They therefore combine the mobility of the cavalry with the solidity of infantry in battle, and (the Britons) become so skilled in their use through training and daily practice that they can even control galloping horses on steep and dangerous inclines, make them slow down very quickly, and turn them around; they themselves can also dart out forwards along the shaft, stand steady on the yoke, and return in a flash back to their chariots. Written by Julius Caesar 51 BC.

Julius Caesar in 55-54 BC writing after his triumphs in the ‘Gallic Wars’, seems to have mistakenly recorded the Iceni as the Cenimagni which translates as the “Great Iceni”. It is believed that the Iceni were Gallo-Belgic in their origins and were comprised of a group of lesser federal tribes; it is also possible that they were related or derived from a tribe of similar name the Cenomani who occupied a region of Gaul.

Who were the five tribes as mentioned by Julius Caesar in his “De Bello Gallico” account of Britain during the years of 55/54 BC? All these tribes were placed between Cassivellaunus’ territory and the former Trinovantium tribal canton of Essex. They were as follows: The Cenimagni, Segontiaci, Ancalites, Bibroci and the Cassi. One possibility is that they were most probably absorbed into other tribal tributary groups.

For instance the Cantiaci that occupied the area we now know as Kent were comprised of at least four different tribal groups according to certain scholars.

Also there is every chance that the Cenimagni were later to become known as the Iceni or on the other hand maybe even tributaries themselves of a much larger tribal group. The Iceni, Coritani and the Durotriges are all thought to have emerged as separate tribal units from other smaller septs or tribes, septs = Celtic clans.

Caesar also mentions that the Celts used chariots in warfare, a large amount of elaborate Icenian horse bridle and chariot fittings have been found along with many coins bearing depictions of horses in various poses - which are wonderful examples of Icenian artwork. All of the horse images depicted on the Icenian coins appear to be moving not one is stationary; they all are seemingly galloping, or cantering along, occasionally rearing and perhaps even dancing.

In AD 43 the Roman emperor Claudius invaded Britain. Most of the British tribes in southern England, surrendered to the Romans without a fight. Though, Caratacus (Catuvellauni king, son and successor of Cunobelin) continued to fight the Romans, his campaign and use of guerilla tactics supported by many other sympathetic Celtic tribes, meant that it would be many years before all the southern tribes in Britain were defeated. Although the Romans eventually conquered the Northern tribes, they never actually succeeded in conquering Scotland.

Following the Roman invasion of 43 AD the Icenian way of life began to change dramatically, coins of king Prasutagus (husband of Boudica) were minted with legends inscribed in Latin, (see coin pic below right) a clear indication that the Icenian royal household had now begun to associate itself more closely with Rome. Though there are signs that not all of the Icenian nobility readily accepted these Roman influences, as evidence has revealed there were many tribal conflicts amongst the federal Iceni factions during this period.

The Celts were incredibly skilled metal-smiths, the gold, bronze, and silversmiths who produced the Snettisham collection of Icenian torcs (Iron Age neck-rings), were master craftsmen; producing some of the finest examples of Iron Age jewellery that we have ever seen in this country. The total amount of precious torcs found in the Snettisham collection in 1948 was 180, making this largest hoard of its kind found in Britain and Europe to date. There were gold, silver and bronze torcs of various elaborate designs, some were complete, and some had been deliberately broken, perhaps “ritually killed” as offerings to the gods. The Sedgeford gold torc found in 1965, had one of its end terminals ripped off – due to tractor damage as it was pulled out of the ground, though amazingly despite being missing for years this end piece was actually recovered in April 2003, about half a mile away from where the original was found. The severed gold torc terminal was a perfect match, identical in “rope twist” design, of the Late Iron Age “La Tene” style.

It would appear that the Iceni were late Iron Age inhabitants of the East Anglian region of Britain . Although they may have arrived much earlier than this - as they seem to be an amalgamation of smaller federal tribes, the names of which are unknown to us today.

Iceni / Eceni (‘people of the horse’) (or the horse people), the tribal name is probably derived from the Gaelic word Each - which means 'horse' and is pronounced with a hard 'ch' as in loch. Possible pronunciations are: "E- KEN - EYE" / "E - CANE - E", or perhaps: "E - KENNY".

The regional borders of the two tribes are determined by the differences depicted in the distinctive pottery ware styles and forms. Iceni pottery was largely of the traditional "hand made" variety, and remained so - until after the Roman invasion of AD 43, but Trinovantes pottery was of the Belgic wheel-thrown variety. Although finds from the West Stow Site - (the Icenian farmstead ) show a gradual adoption of the wheel-thrown Belgic type, though this aspect varies from one site to another.

The amount of Gallo-Belgic E coin hoards that have been found (5 in Norfolk) and at various other locations in the former Iceni territory - would seem to substantiate the theory; that the tribe sent bands of warrior mercenaries across the channel to support the Gallic campaign against the Romans. As Caesar states that this was his main reason for his decision to invade Britain in c. 54/55 BC. The rich and fertile farming land together with vast proceeds from their agricultural produce is believed to have been the major source of tribal wealth.

Buried hoards of Gallo-Belgic gold coins have been found at several sites throughout East Anglia. The coins were probably minted in northern Gaul by the Ambiani tribe who were moneyers for the Gaulish tribes. The E-type coins date from around the mid first century BC, they were probably given in payment to mercenaries from British tribes that served in the Gallic war of independence against Caesar's legions. They are fairly common throughout Gaul as demand for these coins during the Gallic campaign was so great that - at times they were often struck on one side only.

A possible sacrificial offering buried at the entrance of a sacred enclosure. The most recent discovery being the Cow's front right humerus bone, found at Sedgeford, in north west Norfolk (Boudica's heartland)contained 39 Gallo-Belgic E gold stater coins and there may have been several more originally but perhaps a few of the Anglo-Saxon grave diggers struck it lucky.

The Iceni Iron Age settlement at Snettisham Norfolk was the major torc production centre in Eastern England, its craftsmen were producing torcs at the site from c.100 - ? BC. The gold used in the production of the torcs is believed to have originated from gold coins which were either imported from Gaul (France), or obtained as payment for (warrior) mercenary services.

The Iceni minted their coins from about 50 BC until the Roman conquest in 43 AD. These were usually silver coins with a patterned face on one side (obverse), with a horse on the reverse. The Icenian hoard of coins found at Eriswell in Suffolk also included a number of clay moulds which the Iceni used to mint their coins. Several of the coins found have legends such as ECE, ED, EDN and ‘ECEN’ (possibly the tribal name, or a personal name, or perhaps these were the names of mint sites), and also ‘ANTED’ believed to be an abbreviation of (king) Antedios ruler of the Iceni AD 25 - 48. Other coins bearing legends such as "CAN DURO", “AESU”, and “SAENU” are thought to be names of local tribal leaders or chieftains, (e.g. Icenian aristocrats and possible rivals to the throne) or perhaps relatives of either Prasutagus or Boudica. However, the name of ‘Boudica’ (or its abbreviated form), has never been found on Icenian coinage to date. Also in the coin hoard collection are coins produced by Roman Emperors such as; Caligula (AD 37 – 41) and Nero (AD 54 – 68). These Roman coins have enabled the burial of the hoard to be dated to AD 55. Recent discoveries of coins appear to bear the legend Esuprastus, could this be the same ruler we know as Prasutagus, 'Prasto', or perhaps another previously unknown king. It is possible Roman historian Tacitus made an error when recording the name of the Iceni client-king of Rome.

The name for the island of Britain is believed to be derived from its original inhabitants – the Britons. The Greeks recorded the name as Prettanoi, in the 4^th cent BC. This is interpreted as meaning “figured folk”, or “tattooed people”, due to the ancient Britons custom of decorating their bodies.

The ancient Indo-European root word that gave their name is possibly related to the Latin CURTUS (cut), with the initial Pr- appearing through Celtic influence. The latin translation of the name was Picti, and gave the name to the people known as the Picts. This word means simply “picture”. The Picts probably called themselves a similar name which by coincidence was represented by the initial “PIT”(thought to mean “share”) examples of this appear in place-names such as: Pitlochry, Pittenweem.

The modern pronunciation and spelling seems to have developed from Norman French influences. This being an adaptation of the Latin “Britannia” the noun was formed from the Britannici, the tribal name originally derived from the Greek word Prettanoi, (the B replacing the P).

Brittany “French Bretagne” (where the Britons fled during the Anglo-Saxons incursions of mainland Britain) has the same origins, the medieval Latin name for Brittany was: Britannia Minor = “Little Britain” , thus distinct from Britannia Major = “Great Britain”. This interpretation was to become the official name for the country, first recorded in a document of 1338 - as“Bretayne the grete”.

The modern Welsh name for Britain is “PRYDAIN” which retains the Celtic Pr-.

The island of Britain is eight hundred miles long and two hundred miles broad. Here on this island are five languages: English, Brito-Welsh, Scottish, Pictish and Latin. The first inhabitants of this land were the Britons, who came from Armorica, and first occupied the south of Britain. Then it happened that the Picts came from Scythia in the south, with longships, not many, and came first to Northern Hibernia. They asked the Scots if they might live there, but they would not let them, because, they said that they could not all live together there. The Scots said, “We can give you advice, nevertheless; we know of another island east of here where you may dwell if you wish, and if anyone withstands you, we will help you, so that you may accomplish it.” Then the Picts went into this land, to the north, and in the south the British had it. The Picts asked for wives from the Scots and this was granted on the condition that their royal ancestry always be traced from the woman’s side; they have long since held to this. After some years it happened that some of the Scots went from Hibernia to Britain and overcame part of the land. Their war-leader was named Reoda, and because of him they are called Daelreodi.

Sixty years later before Christ was born, Gaius Julius, the Roman Caesar, sought out Britain with eighty ships. There he was at first troubled with grim fighting, and led astray a great part of his army. Then he left his troops with the Scots, and went into Gaul; there he gathered six hundred ships, and with them went again to Britain. It was in the first onslaught that the Caesar’s steward was killed, he was named Labienus. Then the Welsh took great sharp stakes and drove them into a ford, under the water – that river is called the Thames. When the Romans found that, they would not cross over the ford; then the Welsh fled to the wooded wastes. The Caesar overcame a good many fortified villages with much fighting, then went again into Gaul.

The Mystical Ancient Britons.

The island of Britain was at the very end of the inhabited world, or so most Greek and Roman scholars of the day once believed.Yet the Britons knew of land beyond their isle, some 5 days sail westward across the sea was a land with adjacent islands, where the summer night was less than an hour long. Beyond that, there was more ocean approx 500 miles wide, and where ice and debris made navigation very difficult. Much further beyond this, lay a continental land mass with a large bay and three other islands. One of these islands, was very beautiful and had a pleasant climate, here dwelt the banished god. Once of great powers, but deposed by a junior god, he was always treated with great respect. And it was here at his successor’s wish he lay sleeping in a deep cave resting on a rock that looked as though it was made of gold. Surrounded by the spirits, who had been his companions during his reign of power, they would learn and interpret his dreams. Was this Island of the exiled god later to become known as the” land of the midnight sun” ?

The ancient Britons knowledge of the seas, and navigational skills were far greater than first thought. Even the Greek explorer Pytheus (around 330 BC), had come to learn of an artic land, far beyond Britain, known as “Thule” (now known as Iceland), through some reliable British informants. Clearly the maritime expertise of the ancient Britons was far more superior than, the Romans and Greeks could ever imagine, and it proved to be so much more than pure fantasy.

People from Mediterranean parts of the world, were actually afraid to set foot on British soil, because the island was so different, being totally surrounded by ocean, and in it’s culture and beliefs, including it’s remoteness, and the strangeness of it’s inhabitants, in comparison to their civilised societies. The Romans troops were so terrified that they actually started a mutiny under Claudius, as he made the necessary preparations to invade Britain, and he had to go to great lengths to calm them down.

British revolts against Roman rule:

Frequent uprisings and conflicts in Britain during the Roman occupation often went unrecorded and the history of that era retains its silence. Literally hundreds of incidents were left out of the record books - probably because most rebellions were put down quietly by the Roman forces. Obviously this policy was adopted so as not to encourage future rebellions.

This leaves us with a false conception – that the native Britons happily accepted and adopted a Roman lifestyle and also the taxes, laws, and customs of their Roman masters - virtually bowing to their superiority. But as we have one or two actual records of conflicts we know this outdated belief to be pure fabrication.

One of most significant of these powerful incidents occurred in 3^rd cent London. During this outbreak of hostilities between the native Britons and their Roman oppressors, a Roman leader called Allectus sailed to Britain with his troops in order to quell the uprising, this he did to great effect his forces managed to defeat and kill most of the rebels. This act simply led to more unrest among the largely native British-Celtic population - and many joined the revolt against Roman dictatorship, several powerful leaders of Celtic tribes were also banding together to fight for the common cause.

The British assault or offensive was launched by a local (London) British/Celtic chieftain known as Asclepiodotus, a great battle was fought just outside of London and on this occasion the Celts were successful, the Romans fled fearing total massacre inside the walls of London closing the gates behind them. Subsequently the Brits brought in siege engines and the defensives were breached, as the Celts poured in the Romans begged for mercy, terms were agreed and the British leaders decided to allow one Roman ship to leave - until a Celtic chieftain revoked this and following this his forces massacred the entire Roman legion, decapitating the soldiers heads in true Celtic tradition and throwing them into the River.

Thousands of years later during archaeological investigations carried out at the site of the (long-since buried River Walbrook), several skulls were found which would seem to corroborate this particular account of events with regards to London’s ancient history - though we cannot be entirely certain how the skulls came to be there….. Were these findings a grisly reminder of the Boudican revolt of AD 60/61?

The Emperor Constantius died while quashing an uprising in Britain in 306 AD. This along with many other notable rebellions proves that the Britons never happily accepted Roman rule and occupation. He was succeeded by his son Constantine, who later converted Rome to Christianity in 312 AD.

The Ancient Peoples of Britain: Tribal Names & Meanings:

Atrebates (‘inhabitants’)

Brigantes (‘high ones’)

Caledones (‘brave people’)

Cantiaci (‘border-people’)

Carvetti (‘deer people’)

Catuvellauni (‘battle superiors’) (or men good in battle)

Coritani (‘worshippers of the ‘effective’ deity’)

Corionototae (‘people of the [fighting] corps’)

Cornovii (‘people of the horned one’)

Deceangli (‘good borderers’)

Dumnonii (‘people of the deep’; ‘people far away’)

Dematae (‘sheep herders’)

Durotriges (‘strong-hold-people’)

Iceni / Eceni (‘people of the horse’) (or the horse people).

Maetae (‘painted ones’; or ‘Picti’)

Novantae (‘energetic ones’)

Parisii (‘effective ones’)

Ordovices (‘hammer-fighters’)

Picti (‘painted ones’)

Regnes (‘stiff’/‘proud people’)

Selgovae (‘hunters’)

Setantii (‘travellers’)

Trinovantes (‘very energetic ones’)

Venicones (‘tribesmen’)

Votadini (‘those subject to the father’)

British Tribes A-Z List (35)
(01)   Atrebates
(02)   Belgae
(03)   Boresti
(04)   Brigantes
(05)   Calendonii
(06)   Cantiaci (Cantii)
(07)   Careni
(08)   Carnonacae
(09)   Carvetti
(10)   Catuvellauni
(11)   Coritani (Corieltauvi)
(12)   Cornavii (Scotland)
(13)   Cornovii
(14)   Creones
(15)   Decontae
(16)   Deceanglii
(17)   Demetae
(18)   Dobunni
(19)   Dumnonii (Devon & Scotland)
(20)   Durotriges
(21)   Epidii
(22)   Iceni
(23)   Lugi
(24)   Novantae
(25)   Ordivices
(26)   Parisi
(27)   Regnenses (Regni)
(28)   Selgovae
(29)   Silures
(30)   Smertae
(31)   Taexali
(32)   Trinovantes
(33)   Vacomagni
(34)   Venicones
(35)   Votadini