- Chapter Twenty-Five -
Figure 25.1 Stone frieze of horse-heads, from the Celtic sanctuary of Roquepertuse near
Marseilles. Fifth-fourth century Be. Ht 32 cm. (Photo: author.)
symbol. The Euffigneix deity may himself be a god of war, or perhaps of hunting
and wild nature (Esperandieu no. 7702; Pobe and Roubier 1961: no. 6; Green 1989:
fig. 46).
Imagery in metal - usually bronze - also bears witness to the representation of
divinities in the last few centuries Be. Small figures of warrior-or hunter-gods come
from St Maur-en-Chaussee (Oise) (Rapin 1991: 330), Balzars in Liechtenstein (Green
1992a: 125) and Dineault in Brittany (Abbaye de Daoulais 1982: no. 80.01), the
last-mentioned a warrior-goddess with a goose-crested helmet. Images of animals are
more common than are anthropomorphic depictions: bulls, like those from Byciskila
(Czechoslovakia) (Figure 2502) and Hallstatt (Austria), which date to the sixth
century Be (Megaw 1970: no. 35), may symbolize the sacrifice of an animal which
was central to the early Celtic economy. Boar figurines may reflect war symbolism:
some, like those at Hounslow (Middlesex), Gaer Fawr (Powys) and Luncani in
Romania, were probably helmet crests (Foster 1977; Green 1992b: fig. 4.19). But the
bronze boars from Neuvy-en-Sullias (Loiret) are nearly life-size and almost certainly
came from a shrine. The Neuvy hoard dates to the very end of the Gaulish Iron Age
(Esperandieu nos. 2978,2984; Megaw 1970: no. 238; Green 1989 : fig. 59).
The Gundestrup Cauldron is one of the most important pieces of pre-Roman
Celtic religious art. It is a large silver-gilt vessel made up of individual plates which
bear a complex iconography, including depictions of divinities. The cauldron was
found dismantled in a Danish peat-bog at Raevemose Qutiand), and was probably