Julius Caesar — Commentarii de Bello Gallico

Primary-source dossier

The excerpts below are reproduced from the Ictis Anthology — a working paper produced during research for the project. Some of the results were spun off into New Perspectives on the Ictis of Pytheas of Massalia.

Book 3 Chapter 8

Between chapters 8-18, De Bello Gallico describes Caesar’s conquering of the Veneti; later echoed in Seutonius. They are described as exercising “by far the most extensive authority” over sailing passage to Britain. Chapter 12 appears to provide a description of Ictis Type Sites “set at the end of tongues and promontories, so as to allow no approach on foot, when the tide had rushed in from the sea”.

Source: ToposText, Julius Caesar — Commentarii de Bello Gallico

§ 3.8 These Veneti exercise by far the most extensive authority over all the sea-coast in those districts, for they have numerous ships, in which it is their custom to sail to Britain, and they excel the rest in the theory and practice of navigation. As the sea is very boisterous, and open, with but a few harbours here and there which they hold themselves, they have as tributaries almost all those whose custom is to sail that sea. It was the Veneti who took the first step, by detaining Silius and Velanius¹, supposing that through them they should recover their own hostages whom they had given to Crassus². Their authority induced their neighbours — for the Gauls are sudden and spasmodic in their designs — to detain Trebius and Terrasidius for the same reason, and, rapidly despatching deputies among their chiefs, they bound themselves by mutual oath to do nothing save by common consent, and to abide together the single issue of their destiny. Moreover, they urged the remaining states to choose rather to abide in the liberty received from their ancestors than to endure Roman slavery. The whole sea-coast was rapidly won to their opinion, and they despatched a deputation in common to Publius Crassus³, bidding him restore their hostages if he would receive back his own officers.

Book 3 Chapter 12

Caesar appears to describe Ictis Type Sites in Brittany at the site of the Battle of Morbihan.

§ 3.12 The positions of the strongholds were generally of one kind. They were set at the end of tongues and promontories, so as to allow no approach on foot, when the tide had rushed in from the sea — which regularly happens every twelve hours — nor in ships, because when the tide ebbed again the ships would be damaged in shoal water. Both circumstances, therefore, hindered the assault of the strongholds; and, whenever the natives were in fact overcome by huge siege-works — that is to say, when the sea had been set back by a massive mole built up level to the town-walls — and so began to despair of their fortunes, they would bring close inshore a large number of ships, of which they possessed an unlimited supply, and take off all their stuff and retire to the nearest strongholds, there to defend themselves again with the same advantages of position. They pursued these tactics for a great part of the summer the more easily because our own ships were detained by foul weather, and because the difficulty of navigation on a vast and open sea, with strong tides and few — nay, scarcely any — harbours, was extreme.

Book 5 Chapters 12-14

This is Caesar’s main passage describing the geography of the British Isles. The style here is very similar to Strabo and Diodorus Siculus; his successors. Caesar also mentions Kent as being the most civilised/developed part of the country; despite it not having any tin deposits.

Caesar goes as far as to mention “many small islands” lay in the proximity of Britain, but only mentions Ireland and Anglesey (Mona) by name.

Text from: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Commentaries_on_the_Gallic_War/Book_5#12

“The interior portion of Britain is inhabited by those of whom they say that it is handed down by tradition that they were born in the island itself: the maritime portion by those who had passed over from the country of the Belgae⁴ for the purpose of plunder and making war; almost all of whom are called by the names of those states from which being sprung they went thither⁵, and having waged war, continued there and began to cultivate the lands⁶. The number of the people is countless, and their buildings exceedingly numerous, for the most part very like those of the Gauls: the number of cattle is great. They use either brass⁷ or iron rings, determined at a certain weight, as their money.⁸ Tin is produced in the midland regions; in the maritime, iron; but the quantity of it is small: they employ brass⁹, which is imported.¹⁰There, as in Gaul, is timber of every description, except beech and fir. They do not regard it lawful to eat the hare, and the cock, and the goose; they, however, breed them for amusement and pleasure. The climate is more temperate than in Gaul, the colds being less severe.

The island is triangular in its form, and one of its sides is opposite to Gaul. One angle of this side, which is in Kent, whither almost all ships from Gaul are directed, [looks] to the east; the lower looks to the south. This side extends about 500 miles. Another side lies toward Spain and the west, on which part is Ireland, less, as is reckoned, than Britain, by one half: but the passage [from it] into Britain is of equal distance with that from Gaul. In the middle of this voyage, is an island, which is called Mona: many smaller islands besides are supposed to lie [there], of which islands some have written that at the time of the winter solstice it is night there for thirty consecutive days¹¹. We, in our inquiries about that matter, ascertained nothing, except that, by accurate measurements with water, we perceived the nights to be shorter there than on the continent. The length of this side, as their account states, is 700 miles. The third side is toward the north, to which portion of the island no land is opposite; but an angle of that side looks principally toward Germany. This side is considered to be 800 miles in length. Thus the whole island is [about] 2,000 miles in circumference.

The most civilized of all these nations are they who inhabit Kent, which is entirely a maritime district¹², nor do they differ much from the Gallic customs. Most of the inland inhabitants do not sow corn, but live on milk and flesh, and are clad with skins. All the Britons, indeed, dye themselves with woad, which occasions a bluish color, and thereby have a more terrible appearance in fight. They wear their hair long, and have every part of their body shaved except their head and upper lip. Ten and even twelve have wives common to them, and particularly brothers among brothers, and parents among their children; but if there be any issue by these wives, they are reputed to be the children of those by whom respectively each was first espoused when a virgin.”