Proud, spiritual, artistic, scholarly—the ancient Celts were people ahead of their time, and the Celtic world, which stretched from the British Isles to Gallatia during the Iron Age and Roman-era Europe, was one of the most highly advanced societies in history. The Celts were the first people in Northern Europe to use and work with iron, and their art remains revered worldwide. Theirs was a truly democratic and progressive society in which scholarship was held in the highest regard, sexuality was free and open, and women were fierce warriors.