Ordovices

The Ordovices were one of the Celtic tribes that lived in Great Britain before the Roman invasion. Their land was in what we now call North Wales and parts of England. They lived between two other tribes, the Silures to the south and the Deceangli to the north-east.

The Ordovices fought hard against the Romans. A Roman leader named Gnaeus Julius Agricola defeated them during his campaign in the years 77–78 CE. This happened when the Romans took over their last strong places on Anglesey.

Etymology

The name Ordovices likely comes from a Celtic word meaning "hammer fighters." This idea connects to old words for "hammer" in languages like Irish and Welsh. Some think the tribe's name lives on in the place name Dinas Dinorwig in North Wales, meaning "Fort of the Ordovices."

Geology

In 1879, a scientist named Charles Lapworth named a long-ago time period—the Ordovician—after the Ordovices. He did this because the old rocks he studied were found in the area where this tribe once lived in North Wales.

Territory

The Ordovices were one of the tribes that lived in ancient Britain. They lived in the western areas, far from the sea, between the Brigantes to the south and other tribes. Two of their important towns were Branogenium and Mediolanum, but we do not know exactly where these towns were. Their land may have covered parts of what we now call Powys and some areas further south in England.

History

The Ordovices were one of the tribes in Britain that fought against the Romans when they tried to take over. A leader named Caratacus joined them and became their main fighter against the Romans. Later, a Roman leader named Publius Ostorius Scapula captured Caratacus and sent him away.

Many years later, around the 70s, the Ordovices stood up against Roman rule again. They attacked some Roman soldiers, which made the Romans very angry. The Roman leader Agricola led his troops to fight back. He climbed a hill to face the Ordovices and defeated them. After this, Agricola moved on to conquer Anglesey. The exact place of this battle is not known, but it happened near a hill-fort called Dinas Dinorwig.