Cornovii Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
The Cornovii (meaning people of the horn), were one of the Iron Age Celtic tribes living in the British Isles before and after the Roman invasion of Britain. The tribe lived in the modern counties of Staffordshire, Shropshire and Cheshire. Their capital became an important Roman settlement called Viroconium Cornoviorum when they were moved there from their hill fort on The Wrekin and is known today as Wroxeter. Old Oswestry hill fort is also thought to have been inhabited by the Cornovii.The Cornovi were a warlike tribe and they occupied numerous hillforts, including Titterstone Clee near Bitterly. One of these hill forts is probably that referred to by the historian Tacitus as the last refuge of the resistance led by Caratacus in 50 AD. The Cornovi issued no coinage previous to Roman influence and had no distinctive metallurgy or pottery, making them therefore difficult to track. This means that probably they were not a wealthy tribe, living mostly on a pastoral economy, with small crops concentrated in the valleys. After Roman occupation, the lands of the Cornovi became a centre of military and economic operations. Viroconium Cornoviorum became one of the most important cities in Roman Britain, where Legio XIV Gemina was garrisoned for some time. The Romans also exploited metals such as copper, lead and silver in the area.
See also: List of Celtic tribes