The rest were mere tribesmen under chiefs who were often
squabbling with one another, and who never formed anything like an
all-Celtic army. For most of them a navy was out of the question, as
they only used the light, open-work, basket-like coracles covered with
skins--about as useful for fighting the Romans at sea as bark canoes
would be against real men-of-war. The Roman conquest of Britain was
therefore made by the army, each conqueror, from Caesar on, winning
battles farther and farther north, until a fortified Roman wall was
built across the narrow neck of land between the Forth and Clyde.
Along these thirty-six miles the Romans kept guard against the Picts
and other Highland tribes.
The Roman fleet was of course used at all times to guard the seaways
between Britain and the rest of the Roman Empire, as well as to carry
supplies along the coast when the army was fighting near by. This gave
the Romans the usual immense advantage of sea-transport over
land-transport, never less than ten to one and often very much more.
The Romans could thus keep their army supplied with everything it
needed.
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