Nemeton

The word Gaulois Nemeton indicates the sanctuary, the specific place in which the Celtes practiced the worship, under the direction of the Druide S . The equivalent Gaélique is Nemed which means “crowned”. Strabon teaches us that the name of the sanctuary of the Galates of Anatolia is Drunemeton.

Localizations

These crowned places are found in everyone Celtic as well in Great Britain as in Hungary, Germany, Suisse, Czech Republic, etc, and obviously in Gaulle where archeology showed the richness and the abundance of these sites. As example, one can to quote important nemeton of forest of Nevet (word which comes from “nemeton”), with Locronan (department of the Finistere) in Brittany, whose memory of ritual the druidic remains nowadays in the Christian form of the Grande Troménie.

At the oldest times, the worship was returned in the open air, in devoted places, determined by the druids and it is not interdict to think that sites megalithic were recovered with fine nuns.

The enclosures and constructions appear tardily, in first half of third century BC and are used until the Roman invasion. Their construction and their use are thus limited in time. One can quote as example: Gournay-on-Swallow in the department of Oise, in France, Strong Navan in Northern Ireland, (mythical capital of the kingdom of Ulster, known in the epic literature under the name of Emain Chewed, residence of quite as mythical king Conchobar Mac Nessa), Msecké Zehrovice and Zavist in Bohemia.

To note: the sanctuary Carnute whose Jules César makes mention in the Guerre of Gaules was not localized.

Enclosures

It is by the German term Viereckschanze , that the archeologists indicate a quadrangular space, surrounded by a ditch and a ground lifting, surmounted of a palisade out of wooden.

The important site of Gournay-on-Swallow, for example, is a square enclosure of 40 side meters, which comprise a 2 depth ditch and width meters of 2,5 meters, crossed by an entry located on the frontage is. This access faced a rectangular building.

The worship

The sites which were excavated deliver animal bones in great quantity, human bones and many neutralized weapons (broken or twisted). There is not any doubt that concerns the practice of sacrifices. The sacrifices of prisoners of war are known, but seem limited. The human remainders can also constitute ossuaries of warriors, honoured by a ceremony.

It is allowed to suppose that these enclosures were used for the unit of the druidic practices, such as justice, the magic, the divination, the praise or the satire, etc

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