- Sanctuaries and Sacred PLaces -
Goudineau's suggestion that this nemeton was a grove is unlikely, and the context
suggests a structure or precinct. Nemeton thus remains enigmatic. The most accept-
able gloss, MacCana's 'a sacred place' (1983: 14), 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 (Webster 1986: 107; Green 1986:
17), 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: Maier
1991: 249) and the remains of a golden tree from a pit at Manching (Bavaria:
Maier 1991: 241-9). 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: Debord 1982: 213, 245). 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 (Ross 1967: 19-33; Thevenot
1968: 200-21). Textual evidence in this respect is very sparse. Hirtius' account of the
diversion of a spring at Uxellodunum in 51 BC (De Bello Gallico VIIl.43.4), and the
subsequent surrender of the oppidum is a possible reference of iron age date
(Brunaux 1988: 42), but a utilitarian function could well be implied for this spring
(Webster 1991: 517-19). 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 cen-
tury AD with reference to the Civil War (Pharsalia III.339-425).
As noted by Brunaux (1988: 41) and Green (1986: 155), 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 (see e.g. Audin 1985; Webster 1991: 171-218). Finds
of wooden statuary (a non-classical medium) at the Cote d'Or sites of Sources de la
Seine (Martin and Grimaud 1953; Deyts 1983) and Elssarois (Daviet and Daviet 1966)
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