Ancient script

[Thunderbird+]

What did words, letters and figures look like in the times of the ancient Celtic tribes of the British isles before the Romans came ?

[jno]

I don't think they did much writing - as I recall there are only a few inscriptions known and they're in Roman or Greek lettering. The Irish Celtic Ogham alphabet didn't come into use until quite a bit later, I don't think

[Scylax]

The Celts, whether in mainland Europe or Britain,
were not a literate people. Let's describe them as
aliterate, rather than illiterate.

They amply compensated by being highly skilled
in the arts and crafts. The outstanding craftsmanship
of e.g. the Desborough Mirror and the Battersea Shield
are good examples. The Romans were greatly
impressed by the skill of these British 'barbarians',
learned immensely from them, and donated literacy
to them in return, and that was the end of the oral
tradition of the Celts.