26. The Celts Practiced Slavery…
Below the ordinary Celtic people was another class- the cacht (Irish) or caeth (Welsh) —slaves. Both words appear to derive from the Latin captus — suggesting the Celts may have acquired the term by trading slaves with the Romans. Celtic slaves were captives taken during wars or raids. Slavery was also a penalty meted out for certain crimes or to debtors. Tangible evidence of Celtic slavery comes from Llyn Cerrig Bach on Anglesey. Amongst the assorted weapons, horse fittings and cauldrons that formed a pre-Roman hoard of metal objects deposited in a lake was a set of neck shackles used to chain slaves. Celtic slavery was a hereditary condition. But it was also possible for a Celtic slave to win their freedom.
