While the first modern Epidii humans populated the area we now call Britain at the end of the Ice Age (6,500 BC), very little is known about the intricacies of their culture and peoples until recorded histor y begins circa the Roman invasion of 55 BC. Indeed, if it were not for the Roman chroniclers of the time such as Tacitus and Ptolemy, who met the ancient tribes of Britain either in trade or in war, our sketchy picture of these peoples would be even more incomplete than it is today. However, centuries of historical records, stories and archaeological finds have at least given us a snapshot of their lives, leaders and customs.
Before the Roman invasion there were over 27 separate tribes living in Britain. These people had grown from the early hunter-gathers who had inhabited the area, and later the farmers who had developed agriculturally focused societies and who had built such sophisticated structures as Stonehenge. For the last 600 years BCE though, influenced much by the arrival of the Celts from the continent, expansionist tribal kingdoms headed by dynastic and highly territorial rulers and chieftains arose, delivering cultures of fierce violence and sophisticated manufacture, artistry and trade.