- Chapter Twenty-Four -
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 (Gallia 1989: 265-8). 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 (Cadoux 1984: 71). 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
(Pay-de-Calais: Cadoux 1984: 162).
Although Belgic sanctuaries thus exhibit considerable variety, two broad shared
characteristics emerge: a rich assemblage of deposited material - weapons, often
'sacrificed' by deliberate damage (Brunaux and Rapin 1988), 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 (Cadoux 1984, 1991).
Throughout the Celtic world, there are very numerous occurrences of pre-
conquest horizons at Roman period lana (see e.g. Rodwell 1980). 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:
Mangin, Mangin and Meniel 1991). Enclosures with affinities to those of Picardy
include Mirebeau-sur-Beze (Cote d'Or: Brunaux et al. 1985; Guillaumet and Barral
1991), Tronoen (Finistere: Duval 1990) and Lousonna-Vidy (Switzerland: Flutsch and
Paumier 1991). Weapons assemblages recently reinterpreted as deriving from cult loci
include Nanteuil-sur-Aisne and Roizy (Ardennes) in the territory of the Gallic
Remi (Lambot 1991). In Britain, numerous enclosed loci are proposed as iron age
sanctuaries (see Wait 1985 for a recent summary). Among these are a square palisaded
enclosure surrounding a circular structure at Hayling Island (King and Soffe 1990),
and a square, multi-ditched later iron age enclosure, overlain by a circular temple of
the first century AD, at Gosbecks (Wait 198P57). Other examples are Uley (Ellison
1980: 305-9), Lancing Ring (Bedwin 1981: 37-56) and Harlow (Selkirk 1968: 287-90).
The Importance of Enclosure
As Brunaux (1988: 25) rightly emphasizes, enclosure was the primary and indispens-
able feature of Celtic cult sites. Some general points may be offered on enclosures
in Celtic religious contexts.