Celtic or Gallic states of France conquered by Julius Caesar, 58- 51 BC. Last Gallic war leader, Vercingetorix, defeated at Alesia in 52 BC. Roman conquest of Britain completed by 60 AD. Scotland and Ireland remain as the last regions of free Celtic culture.

While the Romans called them "barbarians", the Celts had developed a highly original style of decorative art and were expert metal workers. Chain-mail was just one Celtic innovation copied by the Romans. Celtic agricultural technology, including the wheeled plow, was far in advance of that used by Roman farmers. The Celts of Gaul also lived in cities connected by a network of well-made roads. In fact, it was this road network that helped the Romans conquer the Celtic nations of Gaul.

A Roman invasion east of the Rhine is defeated in 9 AD by the united German clans under Arminius, at the battle of the Teutoburg forest. This was the last major Roman invasion of Germany. Most of the German clans remain free of Roman domination. In spite of their image as firece warriors (which we mostly get from the Romans), most Germans were peaceful farmers living in small villages, and raised herds of cattle and grew crops of wheat, barley and beans

A bull fight anyone This picture shows a typical farmer of north Europe with a domesticated cow, much smaller than the farm cow of today shown on the right. To the left is the aurochs, or wild ox, which is now extinct, but was still common in the forests of Germany 2000 years ago. Although it does not look like it, this powerful animal was the ancestor of the domesticated farm cow. It was considered a mighty feat to hunt and kill an aurochs. Drinking cups made from the huge horns of the aurochs can still be seen in museums!

Chain-mail