Archaeological Evidence
The Cornovii produced little in the way of identifiable ceramic wares. Their sites are identified by construction details of their hill forts and metalwork artifacts. The Cornovi built numerous hill forts, including Titterstone Clee near Bitterley. Old Oswestry hill fort is also thought to have been inhabited by the Cornovii. 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. However, the nature of hill forts is strongly contested among archaeologists, with some crediting them only as tribal status symbols or cattle stockades rather than defended settlements.
The tribe developed no known coinage, but their control of the south-Cheshire salt-making industry and parts of its distribution network probably gave them a fair degree of wealth, multiplied by trading and cattle breeding. However, their economy was mainly a pastoral one. Since the early Iron Age they had had a network of paved and semi-paved roads good enough to transport their famous chariots.
It should not be assumed that the Cornovii looked like paint-daubed savages; the Romans, who described the British as "vain", noted their attention to appearance and personal hygiene. Gold and bronze torcs (i.e.: heavy necklaces made of twisted strands of metal) have been found at Iron Age sites in the region. They were expert in weaving and dyeing, and loved bright colours. Women wore their hair in two thick thigh-length plaits.
Read more about this topic: Cornovii (Midlands)
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