Gods in Real Places: the Celts
A ten‑minute journey through Celtic sacred mountains, forests, rivers and temples, showing how the spirit world was rooted in the physical landscape.
Chapters
- 0:07 Sacred Mountains and Peaks
- 1:34 Forests and Groves
- 3:01 Rivers, Springs and Water Offerings
- 4:28 Temples, Altars and Votive Objects
On-screen text
- 0:07 Sacred Mountains and Peaks
- 0:14 Sacred Mountains and Peaks
- 0:31 Wheel altar to Taranis Historical record · Sanctuary of Taranis, Mont Taran (Brittany), excavation report J. Le Gall 1998
- 0:49 Peaks as liminal zones The Institute's interpretation · John T. Koch, The Celtic World (2006)
- 1:07 Cairns as spirit portals The Institute's interpretation · Miranda Green, The Celtic World (1995)
- 1:25 Oak trees mark Celtic shrines The Institute's interpretation · Peter Berresford Ellis, Celtic Mythology (1994)
- 1:34 Forests and Groves
- 1:41 Forests and Groves
- 1:58 Cauldron shows forest rites Historical record · Gundestrup Cauldron, National Museum of Denmark
- 2:16 Celtic sacred groves Tradition / scripture · Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 5.21.1
- 2:34 Oak post as altar base Historical record · Excavation report of Nemetobriga sanctuary, French Ministry of Culture (2003)
- 2:52 Oak trees mark Celtic shrines The Institute's interpretation · Peter Berresford Ellis, Celtic Mythology (1994)
- 3:01 Rivers, Springs and Water Offerings
- 3:08 Rivers, Springs and Water Offerings
- 3:25 Seine dedicated to Sequana Historical record · Pillar of the Boatmen, Musée de Cluny, Paris (1st c. CE)
- 3:43 Bronze tablet to spring nymphs Historical record · Bronze votive tablet, Musée archéologique de Saint‑Quentin (2nd c. CE)
- 4:01 Bronze vessels offered to river Historical record · Votive offerings from the spring at Gournay‑sur‑Aronde, Musée d'Archéologie nationale
- 4:19 Gauls honored river genii Tradition / scripture · Strabo, Geographica 4.1.9
- 4:28 Temples, Altars and Votive Objects
- 4:35 Lugdunum, Gallia Lugdunensis, c. 50 CE
- 4:56 Gournay‑sur‑Aronde sanctuary, Gaul
- 5:49 Helvetii lands, Swiss plateau, 1st century CE
- 6:30 How did Celtic votive practices vary?
Sources
Historical record: Sanctuary of Taranis, Mont Taran (Brittany), excavation report J. Le Gall 1998 · Gundestrup Cauldron, National Museum of Denmark · Excavation report of Nemetobriga sanctuary, French Ministry of Culture (2003) · Pillar of the Boatmen, Musée de Cluny, Paris (1st c. CE) · Bronze votive tablet, Musée archéologique de Saint‑Quentin (2nd c. CE) · Votive offerings from the spring at Gournay‑sur‑Aronde, Musée d'Archéologie nationale · Dedication stone of Mercury, Lugdunum (Lyon), Musée Gallo‑Romain · Gournay‑sur‑Aronde sanctuary report (1995) · La Tène metalwork, Musée d'Archéologie de Saint‑Germain‑en‑Laye
Tradition / scripture: Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 5.21.1 · Strabo, Geographica 4.1.9 · Cassius Dio, Roman History 55.20
The Institute's interpretation: John T. Koch, The Celtic World (2006) · Miranda Green, The Celtic World (1995) · Peter Berresford Ellis, Celtic Mythology (1994)
Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 167 s of CPU.
Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (7) — the next things to make
- Reconstruction of a wooden altar supported by a massive oak trunk, set in a clearing.
- A towering ancient oak standing beside a stone altar, moss covering its roots.
- A towering ancient oak standing beside a stone altar, moss covering its roots.
- Rivers, Springs and Water Offerings: See how flowing water was personified as deities and how communities gave gifts to them.
- The smith carves spiraled incised symbols into the sword blade, each stroke deliberate, believed to invoke protective spirits.
- A warrior lifts the finished sword, reverently touches the symbols, then places it on a small altar beside a fire.
- Close‑up of the sword’s symbols glinting as torchlight catches them, the patterns swirling like wind‑spirals.