Iron+Age+Celtic+Religion

//“I am bowing my head // //In the eye of the Mother who gave me birth, // //In the eye of the Maiden who loves me, // //In the eye of the Crone who guides me in wisdom, // //In friendship and affection.” ~ Celtic Prayer //

__**Who were the Celts? **__ Very little is known about the “Celtic” peoples of Europe in comparison with their contemporaries; largely due to the lack of written texts and records. Much of what we know comes from recorded observation by the Greeks and the Romans who eventually conquered these peoples and from archaeological evidence.

The Celts can best be described as a group of tribal societies that flourished in Europe during the Iron Age and Roman Era, who spoke Celtic languages; some of these languages are still used today in parts of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales where the roots of their culture and religious beliefs are still practiced.



There are two main Iron Age Celtic periods noted by Historians and Anthropologists; the earlier Iron Age Hallstatt culture (800 BCE – 450 BCE) and the later Iron Age La Tene culture (450 BCE – 50 BCE). The first, the Hallstatt culture, is named for the large prehistoric cemetery near Halstaat, Austria which was discovered by Johann Georg Ramsauer in 1846, where he excavated during the following several decades. Eventually the excavation yielded 1,045 burials. The second, the La Tene culture is named for the La Tene archaeological site at the eastern end of Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland where a large deposit of artifacts was discovered by Hansli Kopp in 1857, which consisted of the remains of two bridges and at least five houses/dwellings; over 2,500 artifacts, including human remains, were found. Lasting from approximately 500 BCE until the Roman conquest of Gaul, Germany and Britain, La Tene culture represented the pinnacle of Celtic civilization. (Powell; 1948)

These two cultures are thought to have emerged from an even earlier, Bronze Age band of Celtic tribes during what is known as the Urnfield period lasting from approximately 1,200 BCE until 800 BCE. Although the Celts remained as fragmented tribes, they were bound by social and religious customs.

One of the main shifts between the Hallstatt culture and the La Tene culture are reflected in their burial practices and the change from wagon to chariot burials. In the Hallstatt period, bodies were interred in four wheeled wagons. La Tene burials involved two wheeled chariots instead. Wagons were the vehicles of a farming based community. The switch to chariots indicated an increasingly militaristic society whose foundation may still have been farming but whose elite defined themselves by their prowess in battle. The chariots themselves, originally an idea imported from the east, show Celtic wheel smiths, carpenters and blacksmiths working together to come up with a uniquely Celtic design (Lontcho; 1999). La Tène peoples also dug ritual shafts, in which votive offerings and even human sacrifices were cast. Severed heads appear to have held great power and were often represented in carvings. Burial sites included weapons, carts, and both elite and household goods, evoking a strong continuity with an afterlife.

__**The Coligny Calendar **__ 

In 1897, a fragmented bronze calendar was discovered in Coligny, France by French archaeologist J. Monard. This single, large bronze tablet, which measures 5 feet wide by 3½ feet in height when the fragments are reassembled contains tabular information arranged in sixteen vertical columns, with what appear to be observations on the weather being systematically recorded. The tablet is currently displayed in the Palais des Arts, Lyon, France. This tablet has been the source of some controversy among scholars because it is unclear as to how heavily the tablet's contents may have been influenced by the Roman Julian Calendar which was being rigorously enforced at the time of its making, around the 1st century AD. J. Monard studied the inscriptions for a number of years, and although it was influenced by the Romans (the inscriptions include Roman Numerals) he came to the conclusion that the Coligny tablet represents the best known example of a Celtic calendar; most scholars agree. He further speculated that the information recorded on the calendar was compiled by Gallic druids who wished to preserve the ancient Celtic system of timekeeping. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Coligny Calendar also reflects the modern day Celtic recognition of important ritual days, the importance of both solar and lunar phases, and the beginning of their new year on November 1st.

__**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Funeral & Burial Practices **__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Much can be learned about a culture's religious beliefs by studying their burial customs and funerary rites. With the Celts being a diverse group of independent tribes it is important to stress that their burial practices demonstrated great variation in terms of regional difference and during separate time periods. However, some similarities can be drawn as we observe the general cultures as follows: the Urnfield, Hallstatt, and La Tene cultures.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Urnfield culture (which some define as the “Proto-Celts) had developed a culture of cremation of the dead, and then burial in urns. The Urnfield culture lasted until the start of the Hallstatt period, when the Celts began the practice of inhumation, or full body burial, often including grave goods. Finally we have the La Tene culture who further embellished the interred with more elaborate grave goods and items which would be needed for the individual's next life, or afterlife.

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">During the Hallstatt period, the start of the inhumation burials also began the practice of object burial with the dead. The Celts belief in an afterlife was so strong that they would put off the payment of debts until they met on the other side. So, the idea of burying objects that would be of help on the other side was not unusual. Swords, chariots, jewelry, and even wine flagons were sent on the journey with the deceased. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">In the case of one female buried in Burgundy, included were all of the pieces of the feast of her funeral. In her grave were wine storage vessels, jugs, bowls, and cups, imported from various areas of the civilized world. A good deal of jewelry also was included; amber necklaces, brooches, and a large gold necklace. In another grave, most likely of a doctor, three tools associated with the profession were found; a probe, a retractor, and a trephining saw, which was used in brain surgery. (Hedeager; 1992)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The wealthy appear to have been treated to a different type of burial tradition. The bodies of the wealthy dead (or perhaps honored warriors) were spread out on a four-wheeled wagon, which may or may not be burnt. As time passed, a lighter cart or chariot, with only two wheels replaced the four wheeled, older wagons. (Hellier; 2001)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">During the La Tene period, cremation was followed by burial of ashes, which was accompanied by grave goods. The La Tene burial rituals appeared to be highly festive and elaborate. Held under a mound, deceased people were placed within a wooden chamber that was fashioned from oak. Inside, an array of personal items is included. Weapons were a popular burial item, as well as many different food and drink items. The importance of life after death was stressed within the Celtic civilizations, which is quite similar to the way that Egyptians viewed the afterlife. Personal ornamental items are also added to the deceased, which are thought to give the deceased power in the afterlife.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">There has also been much speculation regarding Celtic head hunting and the information we have is largely based upon the evidence from Graceo-Roman ethnographic accounts describing the taking of heads as war trophies which Celts attached to their horses, displayed on poles, or tacked up on door facings. Some archaeologists suggest that there is physical evidence to support both head hunting and cannibalism. Whimster, for example, suggests that human remains excavated in Salisbury were broken when freshly green and were probably deliberately broken soon after death. In addition, human bones discovered at Woolsley Hole show signs of having been butchered, and an excavation at Crofts Abbey has produced bones with cut marks on the distal and humerus end, suggestive of butchering. The most convincing evidence comes from Gloucestershire, where the remains of a young woman were found scattered over an occupational floor. The radius, ulna, and right femur had all been broken intentionally after death, and, according to the researcher, appeared to indicate that dismemberment was made for the purpose of extracting marrow (Whimster; 1981).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">In addition to evidence of cannibalism, human bone was frequently worked into tools, ornaments, and jewelry. A recent discovery of a teenage boy recovered from a late 2nd century cite of St. Albans demonstrates the presence of at least 90 cut marks by a fine bladed knife. These are located on the sides and top of the skull. Despite the fact that the flesh had not been removed from the facial area, the disorderly pattern of the marks suggests that the skull was probably defleshed rather than scalped-although the disorderly pattern may have been caused by the careful avoidance of the wound which disabled the victim. The skull also contained four large holes caused by blows received at the time of death, suggesting he was battered to death before being decapitated and defleshed or scalped. There is damage to the base of the skull suggesting it was probably displayed on a pole. The absence of weathering on the skull suggest it may have been displayed indoors (Steele; 1997).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Ritual sacrifice may have also played an important role in the remains of hundreds of bodies and partial skeletons, which have been recovered from bogs across Europe, including a significant number from the British Isles.

__**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Celtic Art **__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">One of the great things that the Celts are known for is their art. Although much of the Celtic artwork we have is post-Iron Age, there have been many examples of art found interred with human remains in burials as well as monumental, megalithic engravings dated from 2,500 BCE and earlier all the way into the Iron Age. Celtic art often incorporates the beauty of symmetry and symbolism. The intriguing part of any Celtic art is the complexity and the intricate details of the symbols it incorporates in its artworks.

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Particular motifs and designs are introduced and often repeated, reinforcing their meaning. Archaeologists interpret these as symbolic and powerful with religious connotations. For example the three-fold character of the triskele (a three-legged design radiating from a centre) may represent the relationships between the living, the dead and the gods or the ongoing cycle of birth, life and death. (Dames; 1999) __**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Celtic Sacrifices & Rituals **__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Archaeologists believe that the Iron Age Celts were polytheistic and that they worshipped their gods through sacrifice, offering valuable objects in an effort to ensure favor from them. Weapons and jewelry were “sacrificed” by throwing them into lakes, rivers, marshes, springs, wells, and bogs, all considered sacred places. At Llyn Cerrig Bach, archaeologists have found over 150 objects of bronze and iron, including spears, shields and swords and this site has become one of the richest sources of evidence for bodies of water being used for ritual deposition. (Green; 1994) The Celtic people also sacrificed animals to their Gods as well as humans. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Celtic religion was closely tied to the natural world and they worshipped gods in sacred places like lakes, rivers, cliffs and bushes. The moon, the sun and the stars were especially important; the Celts believed that there were supernatural forces in every aspect of the natural world. One aspect of Celtic life was the holding of great assemblies at central points at fixed times of the year. For these an area was marked out by a ditch or other form of marker to create a circular area and inside was a simple wooden religious building. Formal rituals and sacrifices were lead by the Priests, known as Druids, who were also considered teachers and law-givers. The Druids were also likely to have been viewed as counselors and healers within their communities. (Biaggi; 1999)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Although we know that many megalithic sites were constructed centuries before the Iron Age, there is evidence that the sites were utilized for thousands of years; some are still considered sacred sites by those who continue on the religious beliefs and customs of their Celtic ancestors.

__**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">The Celtic Pantheon **__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">After much research, the most reliable and solid information regarding exactly who the Iron Age Celts may have worshipped is: We don't know. Since the Celts reserved their written inscriptions for the occasional tombstone (and even that was much later than the Iron Age, after the Celts were pushed west into Ireland by the Roman Empire) we can not determine with certainty exactly what names the early Celts assigned their Gods and Goddesses. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">While it is entirely possible that the oral traditions that have been passed on are accurate, there are no written texts from that time period aside from the recordings of the Greeks and Romans who, according to Caesar, believed that the Celts worshipped the same Pantheon that they did, but simply used different names. There may be a grain of truth to this simply due to the shared common interests of societies at that time; prowess and success in warfare, fair weather and fertility for agriculture, safety and protection for their families, etc.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">This noted, although we can not say with certainty what “names” the Celtic Pantheon included, it is reasonable to surmise that they were polytheistic and that their Pantheon included deities who governed aspects of the changes in the seasons, phases of the moon, the cycle of life, fertility, warfare, health, the elements, etc.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">In a comprehensive list compiled by Dr. Craig Chalquist, the current Celtic Pantheon includes (but is not limited to) the following: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Badb, The** ("Bahv" - Ireland): five war goddesses similar to the three Erinyes (Greece) or Furies (Rome). Also, the raven death-predicting aspect of the Morrigan. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Banba** (Ireland): triune crone of war and fertility. Compare with the Greek Hecate. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Bel** (Ireland): widely worshipped fire and sun god celebrated at Beltane and also associated with music, science, and healing. Similar to the Irish god Bile. Often compared with Apollo, who also kept cattle. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Brigit/Brigid** ("Breet"; Ireland): goddess of acquiring talents such as divination, healing, prophecy, smithing, and occult knowledge; associated with the serpent. Compared by Caesar to Minerva (Athena). Also known as Sulus and Brigantia. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Camulos** (Britain, Romania, Germany, Belgium): a sword-bearing war god similar to Ares (Greece) and Mars (Rome). Symbolized by a boar or by a male head with the horns of a ram. The name might derive from the same root as "champion" and is the basis for Camelot. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Cerridwen** ("ker-ID-wen" - Wales): an agricultural goddess also associated with war, grain, and the moon. She gave reluctant birth to the hero-poet Taliesin (Gwion). Similer to the Greek Demeter (who toasted a boy in an initiatory fire rather than tossing him into a river) and the Roman Ceres, although she is sometimes compared with Hecate. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Cernunnos** ("KER-new-nose" - Gaul): a very widely worshipped horned fertility god similar to Pan. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Dagda, The** ("DOY-dah"; Ireland): chief father god (also called Allfather) and spouse of the Morrigan. He was pot-bellied, dressed like a peasant, carried a huge club that could kill or restore life, and dispensed bounty from an enormous cauldron similar to Zeus's horn of plenty. Similar to Zeus and the Roman Jupiter. His harp helped the seasons cycle, and on it he could play melodies that made people grieve, laugh, or sleep. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Danu** (Ireland): the great mother earth goddess who gave birth to the other gods (the Tuath de Danaan); similar to the Welsh goddess Don, the Russian Dennitsa, the Greek Danae, the Roman Cybele. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Flidais** (Ireland): a goddess of forests and wildernesses; she rode in a chariot drawn by deer. Greek: Artemis. Roman: Diana. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Lugh** ("loo" - Ireland; Lleu in Wales): Shining One: a bright-faced solar god of endless talents, arts, crafts, healing abilities, prophecy; similar to Apollo even though Julius Caesar took him for Mercury. Also known as Lamfhada ("Long Arm") because of his skill with sling and spear. His many talents gained him admittance into the Tuatha. He was the father of Cuchulain. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Mabon** (Wales): a generally youthful harvest and wine god similar to Dionysus. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Morrigen, The** ("moh-REE-gan"; also "mohr-IG-nah"; Ireland): queen of the pantheon and war goddess married to the Dagda. She led him to victory over the Fomorians at the second Battle of Magh Tuireadh. Sometimes takes the form of a raven or crow. She gave the Heraclean hero Cuchulainn a lethally bad time after he rejected her appearance as a young, lovely woman. Compare with the Irish Murigen, Morgan le Fey, the Greek Hera, and the Roman Juno. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">**Tuatha de Danann** ("TOO-ha-day-DAHN-en"; Ireland): the Children of Danu-Ana (Great Mother); the Irish equivalent of Olympians. They overthrew the Fomorians (similar to the Titans).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Stacey Schouten's Ancient European Art Wiki <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">﻿ Amanda Mollica's European Art Wiki <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Hawthorne Celts Wiki <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> Ross Myth Wiki <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;"> The Celts of Pre-Roman Europe Wiki
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Wiki Links **

__**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 150%;">Bibliography **__

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Biaggi, Cristina. "Myths of the Goddess in Neolithic Island Cultures of Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean." ReVision 21.3 (1999): 36. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Chalquist, Craig. "Celtic Deities and Mythic Figures." Terrapsych.com - Serving the Animate Presence of Place. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. <http://www.terrapsych.com/gods.html>.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Dames, Michael. "The Goddess in Wales." ReVision 21.3 (1999): 15. Academic OneFile. Web. 16 Nov. 2010.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Davidson, Hilda Roderick Ellis. "II Feasting and Sacrifice." Myths and Symbols in Pagan Europe: Early Scandinavian and Celtic Religions. Syracuse: Syracuse UP, 1988. 36.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Green, Miranda. "The Religous Symbolism of Llyn Cerrig Bach & Other Early Sacred Water Sites." Student Subdomain for University of Bath. 1994. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. [].

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">"Hallstatt Celtic Culture: Definition, History, Art, Language: Iron Age Celts on Upper Danube." Irish Art | Encyclopedia of Visual Arts in Ireland | History of Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking: Artists, Museums, Galleries, Exhibitions. Web. 02 Nov. 2010. [].

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Hedeager, Lotte. Iron-age Societies: from Tribe to State in Northern Europe, 500 BC to AD 700. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1992. Print.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Hellier, Chris. "Chariots of the Celts." Archaeology Magazine. July-Aug. 2001. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. [].

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">"La Tene Celtic Culture: Definition, History, Characteristics, Art, Designs, Crafts, Legacy." Irish Art | Encyclopedia of Visual Arts in Ireland | History of Painting, Sculpture, Printmaking: Artists, Museums, Galleries, Exhibitions. Web. 03 Nov. 2010. [].

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Lontcho, Frédéric. "Chariots Grounded at Paris Airport." Archaeology Magazine. Nov. 1999. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. <http://www.archaeology.org/9911/newsbriefs/chariots.html>.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Powell, T.G.E. "Celtic Origins: A Stage in the Enquiry." The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland 78 (1948): 71-79. Print. Stable URL: [] Accessed 16/11/2010 08:51

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Steele, James. "Skinned Human Skull Suggests Head Cult." British Archaeology 1997. Web.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Whimster, Rowan. "Burial Practices in Iron Age Britain: A Discussion and Gazetteer of the Evidence 700 BC - 100 AD." British Press Series 90 (1981): 68-72. Print.