The "Pitti"

THE “PITTI”

The “Pitti” was a population settled beyond the Limes Britanniae of the Roman Empire, which repeatedly tried to enter Roman territory, without succeeding. The Romans, on the other hand, didn’t want to sacrifice thousands of legionaries to annex to the empire such an inhospitable and stubbornly defended territory. According to Roman descriptions, the “Pitti” were short and had dark hair and complexion. They were the first inhabitants of the highlands, whose origins are uncertain: some even believe that this population derives from a tribe of Algonquin of Canada or from a non-Indo-European stock; but most historians believe the stories of the more experienced centurions to be true, that is the probability that the “Pitti” descend from the Neolithic settlers who arrived in these regions from the Iberian Peninsula around 7000 B.C. The “Pitti” used to tattoo the body with dyes taken from the roots of some shrubs, even if sometimes they directly affected the skin. They were very skilled with the bow and militarily much more disciplined than other tribes. The “Pitti” represented for years an obstacle for the Romans. Following the withdrawal of the Roman troops from the wall of Antonino in 453 A.D. the “Pitti” had to clash with the Britons, the Saxons, the Viking invaders and the Scots. It was the latter who started the slow and inevitably declining population of the “Pitti”. They dissolved into the ethnicity and culture of the victors and were almost forgotten over the centuries, so much so that only in recent years is an attempt to discover more.