re battle in Anglesea with the Romans
Around 60 A.D., Paulinus, who served Emperor Nero had been successful in crushing tribes of Celts through Wales. When he received orders to break the back of the Druids and therefore the Celts; he headed for the stronghold, Ynys Mon.
There on the shore of the Penmon Peninsula he encountered a powerful army of Celts and Druids. Here is an account from Tacitus Annals written at the time of the battle; "On the beach stood the adverse array, a serried mass of arms and men with women flitting between the ranks. In the style of Furies, in robes of deathly black and with dishevelled hair, they brandished their torches; while a circle of Druids, lifting their hands to heaven and showering imprecations, struck the troops with such an awe at the extraordinary spectacle that, as though their limbs were paralyzed, they exposed their bodies to wounds without an attempt at movement." The Romans were frightened as you can imagine but forged on as was their style and they "cut down all who met them and enveloped the enemy in his own flames." It did not stop there; the sacred groves on Ynys Mon were cut down and many Celts on the island were tortured and killed. The Romans succeeded in destroying the Druids and eventually the Celts.
Jim
