- Chapter Twenty-Six -
The nearby site at Ribemont-sur-Ancre (Picardy) adds another dimension to
the retention of bones for ritual purposes. Excavations in 1982 revealed an ossuary
composed of 2,000 human bones (mostly tibias, femurs and humeri) arranged in a
criss-cross pattern to form aim high hollow square, topped with human shoulder-
blades. There is no concrete evidence for sacrifice, but there is evidence once again
for the deliberate dismemberment of hundreds of individuals.
Celtic Gaul therefore provides evidence for a wide range of funerary practices. To
understand the meaning of the rich burials in both late Hallstatt and early La Tene
contexts, and sites like Gournay and Ribemont, it is necessary to consider both
ethnolographic analogies and other archaeological evidence (d. Wait 1985: 15-50;
Fitzpatrick 1984; Torbrugge, 1971; von Brunn 1980). The ethnographic data were
collected by Levy (1982) in relation to Danish Bronze Age hoards, but much of the
material is relevant to iron age burials. One prime point is that the deposition of
grave goods is in many ways similar to ritual hoard deposition - Levy's composite
definition (1982: 20, 25) applies equally to either activity:
A deposition made in a stereotypic way, of symbolically valuable objects
(which may also be materially valuable, but this is incidental) with the
conscious purpose of communicating with (by petition, blessing, thanking,
propitiating) the supernatural world.
(1982: 20)
Much of the message directed at the Otherworld through the performance of
these rituals is carried by the objects used. Kuper (1973) has observed that personal
ornaments and weapons are useful for symbolizing a social persona (in the sense of
Saxe (1970) and Binford (1971». Furthermore, according to Drennan (1976) rituals
utilizing social symbols serve to sanctify or legitimate the social relationships which
incorporate the symbolic object (d. Muller 1990). In these types of rituals the general
populace are neither observers nor participants, though keenly aware of what is
happening.
A great deal of archaeological interpretation has been invested in constructing
models of complex chieftains and politico-economic systems based on artefacts
and activities symbolizing power and wealth. These interpretations have omitted to
consider fully the symbolic messages inherent in the objects. It may be argued that
the chieftains derived their political and economic authority by being linked to the
Otherworld and the gods through the medium of the burial rituals. A chief held that
position not only through the control of trade by diplomatic and mercantile skills,
but also because the social group's authority was made obvious in the translation of
the dead and their symbols of power into the Otherworld. Chiefs may therefore have
held certain priestly authority in carrying out rituals on behalf of the larger society.
Some" elements of a cult of the ancestors may also have been involved.
Romano-Celtic Traditions in the First Millennium AD
Western Europe during the period of the Roman Empire is in many respects better
understood than the prehistoric period, due in part no doubt to the fact that the
period is historical as well as archaeological. The Roman period has recently