7. By the seventh century BC, the Celts had reached as far as Britain and Ireland too.
Strabo may have believed the English Channel formed one of the borders of “Celtica.” However, the Celts had crossed the channel into Britain and Ireland in the seventh century BC. These first Celts settled alongside the existing Bronze Age inhabitants, dominating them and introducing Hallstatt culture and technology. Eventually, the two peoples and cultures began to merge to produce their own distinct, regional styles of Celtic culture. Trade links with wider “Celtica” were established — introducing further technological and artistic innovations which British and Irish craftsmen continued to mutate into a unique style.