- The Gods and the Supernatural -
Figure 25.3 Wooden carving of a stag, from the Viereckschanze at Fellbach-Schmiden,
Germany. Second century Be. Ht 77 cm. (Illustrator: Paul Jenkins.)
broken in order ritually to 'kill' them and thus render them appropriate as sacrifices
to the spirits of the supernatural world. Examples of this practice are numerous: in
Britain we may cite the deposit of metalwork, including swords and chariot fittings,
in the marshy lake at Llyn Cerrig Bach on the island of Anglesey, which spans
a period between the second century Be and the first century AD (Fox 1946). Broken
weapons formed a substantial element of the offerings made at later pre-Roman
iron age temples, such as Hayling Island (Hampshire) (Downey, King and Soffe 1980:
289-304; Woodward 1992: 66-7). This occurrence may be closely paralleled at
Gournay (Oise) (Brunaux 1986). Deposits in Switzerland are particularly prolific:
that at La Tene, on the shore of Lake Neuchatel, is well known (Vouga 1923; Dunning
1991: 366-8), but the equally important deposit of weapons and chariot equipment at
Tiefenau, in the oppidum of Bern-Engehalbinsel, is less familiar (Muller 1991: 526-7).
This evidence of recurrent ritual behaviour may be interpreted as 'conspicuous
consumption', but equally it may express behaviour associated with a warrior-cult,
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