CHAPTER ELEVEN
RURAL LIFE AND FARMING
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Peter J. Reynolds
I
n just the same way as it is impossible to isolate the Celts, so it is to determine a
specific kind of agriculture which might be described as 'Celtic'. That agriculture
formed the basic economy of Europe and the Mediterranean zone by the first millen-
nium Be is not in question. However, outside the classical world our knowledge
of the nature of agriculture is severely restricted by the lack of any significant
documentary sources. A few tantalizing references occur in the works of Greek and
Roman commentators but they are barely enough to construct any kind of coherent
picture. The practice of agriculture, probably more than any other industry, is
constrained by the nature of the soil and vicissitudes of climate. It is, therefore,
important to recognize that agriculture in Europe and particularly in Britain is quite
different from the agriculture of the Mediterranean zones. In consequence the classical
works on agriculture cannot be used to provide any kind of generalized insight
into what happened in northern Europe. This applies equally to soil preparation and
treatment and to the particular crops cultivated. Bearing in mind that agriculture in the
sense of food production probably began in the latter part of the seventh millennium
Be in the fertile crescent at the easte-rn end of the Mediterranean and gradually spread
throughout Europe to include Britain and Ireland by the fourth millennium Be,
specific Mediterranean practice would have been adapted and changed quite signifi-
cantly as man responded to soil and climate change. Similarly within the Celtic world
of the first millennium Be, arguably the land area stretching from the Pyrenees to the
Rhine and from Ireland to Romania, contemporary farming practice would have
varied quite considerably from one zone to another: differences would have been
dictated by the varied climatic zones and soil types. Until quite recently, with the
advent of agrochemicals, farmers have been able to grow only those crops which any
particular landscape will allow them to cultivate. The ability to influence the natural
prevailing conditions was extremely limited.
The construction of a picture of agriculture in the Celtic world has to be based
upon the data extracted by archaeological excavation. Inevitably these data are
fundamentally inadequate. Agricultural practice and its produce are by definition
ephemeral and annual: ephemeral in the sense that agricultural operations are carried
out day by day, ploughing, manuring, planting, hoeing and reaping; and annual in
that the fruits of farming depend upon the seasons of the year to reach maturation.