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To clarify the belief of the Druids in the immortality of the soul and Celtic ideas about the Other World, archaeological materials are used. In this case, archeological data related to the study of Celtic burials are of interest, the study of architecture and burial inventory of which allows, on the one hand, to draw conclusions about the social structure of society, and on the other, illustrates the Celts' ideas about the afterlife.
Moreover, here not only data from burial studies related directly to the Dorian era, that is, to the II century BC, can be used. e., but also much earlier and later. As M. Amand (Amand Marce) has shown, the religious traditions underlying funeral rituals are very stable and can be traced, for example, in Belgium over a long period of time, from the Bronze Age to the 3rd century AD. BC [39 - Amand Marce. Folklore et archeologie belgo-romaine. La-tomus XXVIII, 1969. P. 199-203.]
First, we will consider the results of studies of early Celtic burials of the late 7th and 6th centuries BC. e., the most luxurious of which, the so-called "princely" burial, belonging to the powerful Hallstatt leaders. The earliest Hallstatt burial mounds dating back to the 7th century BC. e., found in the region of the upper Danube, Upper Austria, Bavaria and Bohemia. Burial mounds were built over spacious burial chambers, the walls of which were lined with wood. The mounds themselves are sometimes surrounded by a moat, and the embankments reach enormous sizes. Among these mounds, the most interesting are the burials containing four-wheeled carts, horse harnesses, and rich horse harness details. Men with a bronze or iron sword in a scabbard are buried in them. The tombs contained a large amount of pottery, sometimes decorated with geometric patterns.
During the VI century BC. e. the center of the richest burials moves to the west - to the upper Rhine region, to southwestern Germany, Switzerland and Burgundy. The most remarkable of the Burgundian mounds is the mound, discovered in 1953 at the foot of this hill in Vix, at Châtillon-sur-Seine in the area of the Côte d'Or uplands (French cote d'or) in Burgundy. [40 - Joffroy R. L'oppidum de Vix et la civilization hallstat-tienne finale dans l'Est de la France. Paris, 1960.] A rich burial place of the Hallstatt "princess" was found there.
Promotional video:
A wooden burial chamber was built under the mound (diameter 42 m, height 6 m). In it, on the back of a four-wheeled chariot, was laid the body of a young woman with a golden diadem on her head (weight - 480 g) and a lot of jewelry: bracelets, amber necklaces, fibulae. The four richly bound chariot wheels were propped against the eastern wall of the burial chamber.
In the northwest corner stood a large bronze vessel, a crater, 164 cm high and weighing 208 kg. The neck of the crater is decorated with a relief frieze, consisting of alternating figures of foot soldiers and charioteers on two-wheeled chariots drawn by a four. Massive handles end with sculptural decorations, a grinning Medusa-Gorgon mask, whose snake hair twists into intricate loops. On the lid of the crater is a statuette of a woman with a veil on her head, which reproduces the type of monumental Greek statues from the archaic period. Harmony of form, grace of the figurine allows us to speak of the work of a first-class Greek master.
A crater of such work and such a large size has no analogues in Europe. In Greek workshops, such things were usually made in smaller sizes. It is believed that this was a special order of the Hallstatt prince, who, along with the artistic value, was impressed by the unusual dimensions of the product. Due to the difficulty of transporting such a large and valuable item, the crater was delivered to Vic in disassembled form and then assembled on site by a Greek craftsman. [41 - Philip J. Celtic civilization and its heritage. S. 38.]
In addition to the monumental crater, the burial contains Etruscan bronze tableware, an Attic black-figured vessel and other things. [42 - The intensive trade of the bearers of Hallstatt culture with the Greco-Etruscan world is attested by numerous finds originating from various burials.] According to the prominent English archaeologist P. Corcoran, archaeological material from Wix confirms literary evidence of the existence of the Queen Bouddicca in Britain and the legendary beautiful and warlike Queen Madb of Ireland. [43 - Corcoran WP Preface // Chadwick N. The Celts. R. 35.]
In the 5th century BC. BC, when the Celts begin their expansion into various regions of Europe, the area of their settlement expands to the northwest, towards the middle reaches of the Rhine and the Marne basin.
At the very beginning of the La Tene period, large burial mounds continued to be erected above the burial chambers, built of stone blocks. Then the burial mounds gradually disappear, burial-free earthen burial grounds appear. The burials of Celtic aristocrats from the early La Tene period contain male and female graves. The men are buried in full armor next to a richly decorated chariot and accessories of the afterlife feast - a part of a boar carcass and twin vessels for drinking wine. The women's graves contain many ornate necklaces, wrist and anklets and other gold jewelry.
According to the witty remark of V. Megow, the Celtic warrior appeared in the other world in full armor, with a part of the pig carcass given as a prize to the winner, and with his wife adorned with jewels, who still held kitchen utensils in her hands. [44 - Mega w JVS Art of the European Age. A Study of the Elusive Image. Bath; Somerset, 1970. P. 17.]
Such a luxurious burial inventory was supposed to testify to the high social rank of the deceased, which was recognized in the Other World and fixed for eternity.
Amand believes that large burial mounds with stone or wooden crypts, abundant grave goods and sometimes with remnants of a funeral pyre and sacrifices, dating back to the 1st-3rd centuries, are found in large numbers in Belgium. n. e., have as direct prototypes the mounds of the Celtic and Belgian princes. In the Roman era, people continued to be buried under the mounds, whose social significance could revive in memory the power and wealth of their Celtic ancestors. [45 - Amand M. Folklore et archeologie belgo-romaine. Latomus. XXVIII. P. 203.]
Celtic burial gold stripes
Thus, the data of archaeological sources do, to a certain extent, clarify and clarify the nature of the Druids' belief in immortality and Celtic ideas about the Other World. They show that the Celtic belief in immortality was very far from the teachings of Pythagoras, and according to Celtic beliefs, the afterlife was a continuation of the earthly, and even a more cheerful and happy continuation.
Celtic Druids. Book by Françoise Leroux
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