Sanctuaries and Sacred Places
Drawing on iron age texts and a critical examination of
archaeological data, it is possible to suggest some key features of the sacred
spaces among the Celts.
Written Evidence
As the iron age Celts made limited use of writing, textual
accounts of Celtic peoples derive almost entirely from Graeco-Roman sources.
Those classical texts contemporary with the Iron Age are most relevant to a
discussion of iron age sites, and the present account concentrates on these. As
the product of an external, conquering society, classical commentaries are in
many ways a problematic source of data on the Celts. But at the same time, such
accounts are iron age artefacts, and when treated as such can yield much
information. Most classical accounts of
Celtic sacred space date to the later Iron Age (i.e. La Tene D; C.120-0 Bc).
Greek colonization in the western Mediterranean, under way by the sixth century
Bc, and Celtic expansion into northern Italy from the fourth to second
centuries Bc and Asia Minor from the third generated limited textual data on
the Celts, but it was only from C.125-120 Bc, with Roman intervention in the
Provincia, that significant quantities of data emerged on Celtic peoples and
practices. The date of these texts ensures that the question of Graeco-Roman influence,
both on Celtic practices and on their literary depiction, is ever-present in
assessing the literary evidence.
Underlying most iron age texts is thus a common theme: a
sacred area comprising or including an enclosure. How such enclosures were
realized is nowhere specified, but the concept of sacred enclosure is clear.
Ironically, given their interest to the excavators of the weapon-rich sites
discussed below, almost the only texts for which enclosure remains an
uncertainty are Caesar's references to loci consecrati (sacred spots). Caesar
uses the term for the druidic meeting-place among the Carnutes of Gaul and for
heaps of battle spoil dedicated to 'Mercury'. In the latter case, Caesar simply
says that booty was piled up in heaps; enclosure need not be implied.
Elsewhere, Diodorus referred to booty being taken off the battlefield, without
specifying its fate. Livy suggested spoils were heaped on the battlefield,
apparently ruling out formal structure, but wrote with reference to the Celtic
sack of Rome in 390 Bc. As Brunaux suggested, battlefield booty heaps may have
been used in foreign territory, when spoils could not be moved to existing
loci. Whatever the case, it is clear from Caesar's account that in later iron
age Gaul booty heaps were conceptually bounded by their taboo status. The
almost total absence of any detail on construction and use make it difficult to
determine the nature of Celtic cult sites. But the formalized structuring of
space, incorporating enclosing works, is suggested by most texts.
A 'Natural' Religion?
'Natural' loci such as woods, groves and trees are often
advanced as Celtic cult loci par excellence. This concept of Celtic sacred
space derives in part from classical texts, but references on this theme do not commence before the first century AD, when woodland sites
are frequently associated with the druids. Iron age references to 'natural'
loci are rare. In C.100 Bc Artemidorus commented on an open-air ritual at Cape
St Vincent in western Spain, and Poseidonios on the use of lakes as sacred
repositories in the Toulouse area of the Provincia. Strabo also stated that the
Celtiberians worshipped a nameless god outside their houses.
Although only Artemidorus makes explicit reference to the
absence of structures, all three texts may imply rituals without use of formal
(roofed) structures, or otherwise involving the restructuring of space; for
example by construction of an enclosure. There are no other iron age references
to such 'natural' cult sites.
The first-century AD change in emphasis to woodland sites is
ignored by archaeological commentators except Wait, although we can advance
reasons for a change in practice at this point. Imperial proscription of the
druids could have forced the use of secluded locales. Equally, as Chadwick
noted, the textual association of druids and groves could be the result of a
spurious etymology, voiced in Pliny's suggestion that 'druid' derives from the
Greek word for oak. It is not impossible
that the association of groves with Celtic religion is a literary construct of the first century AD.
The concept of nature-based Celtic religion is also
predicated on the apparent paucity of archaeological evidence for tectonic
loci. As such sites would leave little archaeological trace, this proposition
remains difficult to test, but it is important to note that the archaeological
record is likely to be biased in favour of formal structures. Bearing this in
mind, what evidence can be adduced for 'natural' loci?
Nemeton
Nemeton is a Celtic descriptor for sites of cult
significance. Nemeton is attested mainly in post-conquest place-names and
epigraphy, over a wide area. Place-names include Augustonemetum
(Clermont-Ferrand) and Nemetodorum (Nanterre) in Gaul, Nemetobriga (near
Ortense) in Spain, and Medionemeton (near the Antonine Wall) in Britain.
Epigraphic attestations include Mars Rigonemetis from Britain (Nettleham) and
Nemetona from Altripp (Spier). Nemeton is commonly glossed 'sacred, with little
indication that it principally denoted such sites. It is suggested nemeton had
several meanings, including grove or clearing and small shrine or chapel (d.
the Irish nemed, glossed sacellum, suggestive of a small shrine). Formal
structural associations are a possibility for some examples, as at
Vaison-la-Romaine (Vaucluse, France), where an inscription records the
dedication of a nemeton to Belissama. and the context suggests a structure or
precinct. Nemeton thus remains enigmatic. The most acceptable gloss, MacCana's
'a sacred place', simply emphasizes how little we may infer from the term
regarding the form of Celtic cult sites.
Trees and Groves
Groves continue to be advanced as Celtic cult sites,
essentially by reference to nemeton attestations, and the first-century AD
texts discussed above. Such sites would have little archaeological visibility,
but some recent discoveries may suggest that representations of trees were
employed in cult contexts. These are the finds of bronze leaves at the St-Maur
sanctuary (Oise, France) and the remains of a golden tree from a pit at
Manching (Bavaria). These finds are problematic; the Manching tree, which
probably dates to the third century BC, and from which were suspended golden
leaves and fruit, is apparently of Greek manufacture. The cult association of
the find, which is not from one of the possible Manching cult foci, is also
uncertain. Iron leaves, again designed for suspension, were found in a
settlement context at Villeneuve-St-Germain (Aisne, France). The positioning
and use of such finds within sanctuaries (where related to these) are as yet
unknown.
Water
'Watery' loci such as a springs, lakes and bogs have
traditionally been argued as important sacred spaces for Celts.
Springs
Springs are commonly seen as a focus for Celtic rituals.
Textual evidence in this respect is very sparse. Hirtius' account of the
diversion of a spring at Uxellodunum in 51 BC, and the subsequent surrender of
the oppidum is a possible reference of iron age date, but a utilitarian
function could well be implied for this spring. The one reference to springs in
a clear iron age cult context is Lucan's overwrought account of a Lucus near
Marseilles, written in the first century AD with reference to the Civil War.
Archaeological evidence for springs as pre-conquest cult
foci is virtually non-existent. The argument for Celtic use of such loci is heavily dependent on the
well-documented post-conquest use of springs for cult purposes. Finds of wooden
statuary (a non-classical medium) at the Cote d'Or sites of Sources de la Seine
and Elssarois and at Chamalieres (Puy-de-Dome), and elsewhere in France, have
been argued to show a Celtic presence at springs, but can nowhere be dated
before the first century AD. The recently excavated examples from
Montlay-en-Auxois (Cote d'Or) were found in wooden catchment pools dated by dendrochronology to AD 86-119.
On the other hand, cult activity occurred from the early
post-conquest period at many springs: Luxeuil and St-Marcel (Indre), Avord and
Sagonne (Cher), Vichy (Allier), Chateauneuf-Ies-Bains (Puy-de-Dome), and Coren
and Vic-sur-Cere (Cantal) have all produced early post-conquest coins or
ceramics. There are two ways to consider this phenomenon: either by the
retrospective inference that such sites are close enough in date to the Roman
intervention to suggest they represent the survival of pre-conquest practices;
or as a veritable post-conquest phenomenon. On present evidence, the balance is
in favour of the latter.
Lakes
Poseidonios, who visited Mediterranean Gaul in C.IOO BC,
refered to sacred lakes as repositories for treasures among the Tectosages of
Toulouse. This passage is often cited as evidence for a widespread use of
sacred lakes by Celtic peoples, but the text is clearly specific to the
Tectosages. Archaeological evidence for lakes in cult contexts is, however,
more widespread. The deposition of high-value metal in watery contexts,
including lakes, is well attested archaeologically in Atlantic Europe. This
practice increased during the Iron Age in Britain, though on the Continent it
declined after the second century BC. Numerous lakes are interpreted as
depositional cult foci, including Llyn Cerrig Bach (Anglesey) and Carlingwark
(Scotland). A similar interpretation was originally advanced for the lake site
at La Tene, (Neuchatel, Switzerland), where thousands of weapons and tools, and
some jewellery and coins, were found.
Bogs
Bogs also served as foci for metalwork deposits. This
practice was not restricted to Celtic peoples, and features for example in
Germanic cult. The Gundestrup Cauldron, widely seen as the quintessential
'Celtic' cult artefact, was in fact found in a bog in Himmerland, Denmark. Human remains are mainly known from Germanic
contexts, but sometimes occur in Britain and Ireland. The Lindow bog body
(Lindow Moss, Cheshire) is a recent example. Dating of the body is problematic,
but radiocarbon dates from the most recent analysis cluster around the first
century AD. Lindow man suffered a threefold death (by axe blows, garrotting and
cutting of the throat). This triplication suggests a death with ritual links.
Where datable, however, British bog bodies are mainly of bronze age or Roman
date, and their ritual associations unclear. The extent to which such deposits
represent an iron age ritual phenomenon is thus uncertain.
There is some evidence that islands were favoured as cult
sites by Atlantic Celtic peoples. Several texts may be noted in this context.
Posidonius described a Gallic site on an island off the mouth of the Loire,
served by female religious specialists. Tacitus, describing Suetonius' attack
on Mona (Anglesey), associated the island with the druids and with women whom
he compared to the Furies. After the conquest, Mela referred to virgin
priestesses on the island of Sena (Brittany). Female religious specialists are
linked to islands in all three passages. The implication is possibly of sexual
boundedness. Islands are also physically bounded, relating them conceptually to
other forms of enclosure noted here. In Britain, archaeological evidence for an
island sanctuary occurs in the form of a wooden circular temple on Hayling
Island.
A link theme in the above discussion is that of water as a
boundary. Brunaux has suggested that lakes were natural sanctuaries, without
enclosure or protection. This may not always have been the case, but water, or
islands in water, clearly offer a ready-made form of enclosure. Both textual
and archaeological evidence for iron age 'natural' foci is thus very
restricted, the latter being largely limited to certain water categories. It is
very likely that Celtic peoples did employ natural forces as cult foci, without
restructuring their space. In the Graeco-Roman world, for example, such loci
co-existed with formal, public, cult centres and the same is clearly probable
for Celtic peoples. Indeed, it is possible to argue that our concept of Celtic
religious life is distorted by the poor recognition of 'natural' cult loci by
both classical commentators and archaeologists. In this context, the lack of
textual data may reflect the fact that non-structural loci would not have been
easily recognizable to external observers.
But at the same time, natural forces, including trees and
springs, were familiar cult loci in the Graeco-Roman world. It remains significant that almost all iron
age textual references suggest, with varying degrees of certainty, that the
designation of Celtic cult sites involved the restructuring of space. Equally,
while the difficulties of archaeological recognition of 'natural' sites must be
borne in mind when assessing their importance to the Celts, it is also
reasonable to expect some positive archaeological evidence in their favour. In
many of the cases examined above, this is clearly lacking.
Wells and Shafts
Wells and shafts have long been argued as Celtic cult sites.
The British record has been comprehensively documented but evidence for iron
age usage is extremely poor. Stronger evidence for ritual wells and shafts
comes from the continent. Shafts have been recovered, for example, inside or
under the banks of southern German Viereckschanzen. Bavarian examples occur at
Holzhausen, Tomerdingen, Schonfeld and Kreutzpullach. Fellbach-Schmiden
(Baden-Wiirttemberg) may also be noted in this context. At Holzhausen, three
shafts up to 36.5 m deep were sunk in the Iron Age. The presence of organic
material, burning within shafts, and the deliberate placement of a wooden stake
and a flesh-hook in two shafts led the excavator to suggest these had been used
for the disposal of sacrificial remains. At Fellbach-Schmiden fragments of
three deer figurines were recovered from an oaklined shaft (by dendrochronology
to 123 BC).
Beyond southern Germany, shafts with iron age fills are
rare. Gallic examples are mainly restricted to the Provincia. The fills of some
Toulouse shafts date to the first century BC (e.g. the ceramic-filled shaft
from Vieille-Toulouse), but none securely predates the Roman intervention.
Pre-conquest fills occur elsewhere in the Provincia, as at Nimes, but these
shafts seem to have had utilitarian roles. Most Gallic examples postdate the
Augustan era, as at Argentomagus where
shafts date to the first century AD and the first- to second-century AD
examples at Chartres (Eure-etLoir) Given this dating, it is important to recall
that the use of shafts for cult purposes was common in the
Graeco-Roman world and it seems very possible that wells and shafts are
essentially post-conquest cult loci.
Celto-Ligurian Sanctuaries
These well-documented stone-built structures of Provence
include Entremont, Roquepertuse and
Glanum.
They comprise monumental propylaea, decorated with
sculptured reliefs, frequently of the human head, and often associated with
free-standing sculptures of cross-legged anthropomorphic figures. The dating of
some examples is uncertain, but Entremont and Roquepertuse were probably destroyed
during the Roman intervention in c. 125 Be. These sites provide much
information on sanctuary structure, but they represent an exceptional,
localized development, owing much to the long Greek contacts in the
Bouches-du-Rhone area, and, with the exception of a dieu-accroupi from
Argentomagus , do not appear to be replicated elsewhere in Celtic Europe.
Enclosures and their related structures
Until recently, it was thought that prior to the second
century Be, iron age Celtic peoples rarely constructed special cult sites, and
possible early sites like the early third-century Be rectilinear enclosure at
Libenice (Prague) were considered exceptions to this rule. Excavation in the
last decade, particularly in northern France, has changed this position somewhat
(the sanctuary at Gournay-sur-Aronde (Oise), for example, has fourth-century Be
origins), but it remains true that the majority of excavated cult sites
employing enclosures do not predate 250 Be.
Viereckschanzen
This term was originally applied to a series of Bavarian
rectilinear enclosures delimited by an earth bank and ditch, enclosing an area
of approximately I ha. Viereckschanzen
were classified on morphological and typological criteria by Schwarz, who was
influential in arguing for the cult function of such sites. In contrast to the
'Belgic' sanctuaries discussed below, the assemblages from excavated
Viereckschanzen are generally very poor, and the cult function of most examples
is uncertain. Sites across Celtic Europe, from Gosbecks in Britain to Msecke
Zehrovice in Bohemia have been related to the Bavarian Viereckschanzen on
morphological grounds. There has been a marked tendency to assume commonality
of function across the series, and taking Holzhausen as an indicator, this role
has often been argued to be a cult one. The recent doubts cast over Holzhausen
are thus significant, not least because, despite numerous excavations,
Holzhausen remains the sole site with a strong claim to a cult function. The
excavators of Viereckschanzen-comparables in France, for example, have
suggested utilitarian roles for enclosures at
and St-Arnoult. In addition, the perceived morphological and
topographical similarities between the Bavarian sites and a set of proposed
Viereckschanzen-comparables in the Limousin, France, have recently been shown
to be statistically non-significant. It is likely that some sites now placed in
the Viereckschanzen class served a cult function, but it seems clear that the
category subsumes a variety of monument groups. Without independent excavation
criteria, as yet lacking, unexcavated sites, and the majority of excavated
examples, cannot be seen as cult loci.
Last decade, a series of excavations in the territory of the
Bellovaci and Ambiani (Picardy, France) has substantially increased our
knowledge of sanctuaries and attitudes to sacred space in Belgic Gaul.
Sanctuary sites with features similar to those of Picardy occur beyond Belgic
territory, but given the extent of excavation in Belgic Gaul, it is proposed to
concentrate on that area here. Belgic sanctuaries include Gournay-sur-Aronde),
Estrees-St-Denis, St-Maur and
Vendeuil-Caply in Dept Oise;
Ribemont-sur-Ancre, Morviller-St-Saturnin
and Chilly in Dept Somme; and
Mouzon in Dept Ardennes. One of the
best-understood sequences is that for the sanctuary at the centre of the
oppidum of Gournay-sur-Aronde (Oise). The sanctuary site forms a rectilinear
enclosure which in its first (fourth century Bc) phase measured 45 x 38 m and
was defined by a ditch and low bank. In the late fourth to mid-third century Bc a palisade was added on the external edge of the ditch and in the late third to
early second century Be a second ditch was added beyond the first. From its
construction in the fourth century Be until C.30 Bc, the primary ditch was used
to deposit over 2,000 broken weapons and 3,000 animal bones. At the center of
the enclosure a group of pits was dug in the mid-third century Be. Nine roughly
circular pits 1.2 m deep, surrounded a tenth, oval, pit in which cattle remains
were allowed to decompose.
Around the end of the third century Be these pits served as
foundations for a wooden building, replaced by two subsequent first-century Be
structures. The latter, constructed c.30 Be, was of [anum form. Ditches serving
as repositories for weapons, tools, and animal and human bone, associated with
a central arrangement of pits which later saw structural formalization, occur
at other Oise sites. These include St-Maur
and Vendeuil-Caply. At St-Maur, ritual activity commenced later than at
Gournay, in c.250 Be. Many variations on the Gournay pattern are known, even
within Belgic Gaul. At some sites assemblages are characterized less by weapons
than by jewellery; examples here are Estn!es-St-Denis, Vendeuil-Caply and
Morviller-St-Saturnin. Equally, certain sites, such as Estrees-St-Denis and
Montmartin, are less clearly demarcated from their associated settlements than
are others in the Belgic group.
A number of sites produce a high proportion of human bone.
Among these is Ribemont-sur-Ancre (Somme), 50 km from Gournay. An iron age cult
area was discovered here, near the principal temple of a vast Gallo-Roman cult
complex. Over 200 long bones (mainly human, but also of horses) had been used
to form a box-like construction, r.65 m sq, surrounding a post-hole filled with
human ashes. Originally standing 1 m high, this ossuary was surrounded by iron
weapons. A second ossuary has recently been excavated. Both examples stood in corners of a ditch-and-bank quadrangular enclosure,
itself set in a vast enclosure over 200 m in length. Weapons and bones had been
placed along the edges of the former. Two distinct dating episodes are noted at
Ribemont: the construction of the ossuaries C200 Be, and a phase of deposition
within the ditch, centred on the period of the Gallic War. The specific
function of the site is unclear. The bone constructions could represent the
massacre of prisoners, the remains of enemies killed in battle, or a collective
sepulchre for the 'friendly' dead.
A second site yielding a high proportion of human remains is
Mceuvres, Cambrais. Although Belgic sanctuaries thus exhibit considerable
variety, two broad shared characteristics emerge: a rich assemblage of
deposited material - weapons, often 'sacrificed' by deliberate damage, animal
and human bones, and jewellery - and a palisaded/ditched enclosure. Many of the
more fully excavated sites have also produced internal structures, but these
generally postdate the enclosing works. This point is reconsidered below.
Finally, whilst we know almost nothing of deity worship within these loci (or
even whether this occurred), it is clear that deposition was a key ritual
activity at such sites. These depositional acts were the culmination of a
series of ritual processes, including the dismemberment and exposure of human and
animal bone and the ritual sacrifice of weapons, well documented at
Gournay-sur-Aronde (Brunaux and Rapin 1988) and Ribemont-sur- Ancre.
Throughout the Celtic world, there are very numerous
occurrences of preconquest horizons at Roman period lana. The structural
associations of these levels are unfortunately often uncertain, obliterated by
the subsequent buildings, but frequently comprise pits or pit
groupings, similar to those of the Belgic area. A recently excavated example
occurs at Vertault (Cote d'Or). Enclosures with affinities to those of Picardy
include Mirebeau-sur-Beze (Cote d'Or), Tronoen (Finistere) and Lousonna-Vidy
(Switzerland). Weapons assemblages recently reinterpreted as deriving from cult
loci include Nanteuil-sur-Aisne and Roizy (Ardennes) in the territory of the
Gallic Remi. In Britain, numerous enclosed loci are proposed as iron age
sanctuaries. Among these are a square palisaded enclosure surrounding a
circular structure at Hayling Island, and a square, multi-ditched later iron age
enclosure, overlain by a circular temple of the first century AD, at Gosbecks.
Other examples are Uley, Lancing Ring
and Harlow.
The Importance of Enclosure
Enclosure was the primary and indispensable feature of
Celtic cult sites. Some general points may be offered on enclosures in Celtic
religious contexts. Enclosure is an act of boundary. Prior to the Late Iron
Age, this boundedness was often underlined by the physical isolation of cult
loci from settlement sites. The early La Tene quadrangular enclosure at the
summit of the oppidum of Zavist (Bohemia) is one of earliest proposed cult
sites to exhibit close settlement links. By the later Iron Age, many cult loci
occur within settlement contexts. Others, like Ribemont, comprise rural loci
which under the Roman hegemony develop into major cult complexes.
As the Belgic examples show, the early phases at most cult
enclosures, delimited by a ditch and sometimes a palisade, had no accompanying
internal structures. Crucially, in many cases, enclosure ditches were
themselves a focus of ritual activity, serving as depositional zones. In the
Celtic world, an enclosure ditch was often not simply a delimiter of sacred
space; it was itself a primary focus of cult activity.
Weaponry, in particular, tends to be associated with ditches
rather than with formal structures. The weapons assemblages of both Gournay and
St-Maur were associated with the enclosure ditches; those of Ribemont with the
ossuaries and the ditch edge, and during the first century BC weapons were also
placed in the ditch. Formal structures occur at late stages in the history of
these sites. Others may have had no structural phase at all, for example
Mceuvres and possibly also the poorly documented closed deposits of weapons and
horse gear such as the Masse at Tiefenau and Naillers.
Ditches, as depositional loci, were thus often intimately
associated with cult activity. The relative chronology of enclosed cult loci
merits stressing in this context. The perimeter - ditch and or palisade - tends
to predate internal features. Later structures, often formalizing pit groups
(as at Gournay and Vendeuil-Caply) tend to be square or rectangular in plan,
culminating in square-plan that relates the form of internal structures to the
plan of the enclosure itself, again emphasizing the pre-eminence of the
enclosing works. Whether the development of formal structures is due to
Mediterranean influence, as some commentators maintain is open to debate. But
it is clear that an essential feature of many Celtic cult loci is the act of
enclosure, less as sacred delimiter than as itself sacred space.
Space and Symbolism
Our understanding of the beliefs which structured the
organization of sacred space among Celtic peoples is very uncertain. But the
characteristics of cult sites allow us to see some underlying principles at
work, if not the reasons for them. For example, many Celtic cult sites have
east-facing entrances. This feature is by no means confined to sacred sites,
but the frequent occurrence of easterly orientation suggests it was a symbolic
referent informing spatial delimitation in many contexts. Posidonius, who says
the Keltoi revere the gods by turning to the right, also recognized the
symbolic importance of orientation, and may be describing a rite of
circumambulation. In the first century AD Pliny noted Gallic circumambulation,
apparently in the opposite direction. Similar rites have tentatively been
evoked to explain the presence of an annular space, delimited by two palisades,
at the St-Maur sanctuary. Other astronomical considerations may have influenced
the structuring of space within enclosures. The internal structures at Libenice
(Prague) were arranged with reference to the position of the sun and the
solstices, and at Gournay (Oise) four posts at the centre of the enclosure
marked the cardinal points. Caesar's
comment on the druidic meeting-place at
the center of Gaul may suggest the symbolic importance of centrality to Celtic
peoples. This may also be reflected in the widespread occurrence of the element
medio- (center, middle) in Celtic place-names . The British Medionemeton is particularly relevant in this context. It
is less clear whether this concept informed the structuring of sacred spaces on
a microcosmic level, although Brunaux comments that most temples are placed at
the centre of enclosures. Brunaux has also argued for a geography in which
every natural phenomenon was deemed sacred by the Celts. At present, however,
ideas on Celtic sacred geography remain speculative, articulated mainly by
appeals to the medieval literature.
(The Celtic World, 1995, Jane Webster)
