Celtic Shrines in Central Europe: A Sceptical Approach

Abstract

This paper deals with the archaeological manifestations of religious activities of the Central European Celts. Until recently, the rectangular enclosures in Central Europe ('Viereckschanzen 7 were considered solely as sanctuaries, though present evidence allows other interpretations of the function of these sites as well. f i e criteria for recognizing the wooden structures situated inside the enclosed areas as shrines are far from being unambiguous and in some cases a profane, i. e. non-religious purpose may be presumed. f i e questions put forward here were prompted by the find of an unusual structure in the enclosure of MSeckL Zehrovice in Bohemia. VENCLOVA. N. 1991: Structure et fonction de I'enclos de MSecke iehrovice, in: J-L. Brunaux (ed.): Les sanctuaires celtiques et leurs rapports avec le monde mediterranten, (Paris Dossiers de Protohistoire 3), 139-145. WAIT, G.A. 1985: Ritual and religion in Iron Age Britain (Oxford, B.A.R. British Series 149). WALDHAUSER. J . 1970-7 1 : Vyzkum Cty~helnikovych valu a IatknskCho sidliitt! u Markvartic (o.JiCin) v roce 1969, Sbornik Ceskoslovenskt spoleEnosti archeologickt 50, 110-121. RGK 64, 5-19. 4, 61-88. OXFORDJOURNALOF ARCHAEOLOGY 0 Basil Blackwell Ltd. 1993 65 CELTIC SHRINES IN CENTRAL EUROPE WALDHAUSER. I. 1975: Die keltischen Viereckschanzen in Bohmen, Alba Regia XIV, 235-244. WALDHAUSER, J . 1987: Soziale Schichtung innerhalb der spathallstatt-und friihlathezeitlichen Siedlung Radovesice 2 3 in Bohmen, Archuofogisches Korrespondenzbla f t 17, 205-2 12. WALDHAUSER. J. 1989: Etat de la recherche sur les enceintes quadrilatCrales IatCniennes (dites Viereckschanzen) en BohEme, in: Buchsenschutz, O., Olivier, L. (eds.): Les Viereckschanzen er les enceintes quadrilafirales en Europe celtique (Paris, Errance), 43-55. 66 WILSON. D.R. 1975: Romano-Celtic temple architecture, Journal of British Archaeological Association (3rd Series), 38, 3-27. WILSON, D.R. 1980: Romano-Celtic temple architecture: how much do we actually know?, in: Rodwell, W.J. (ed.): Temples, churches, and religion: recent research in Roman Brirain (Oxford, B.A.R. British Series 77), 5-30. ZIPPELIUs. A . 1953: Das vormittelalterliche dreischiffige Hallenhaus in Mitteleuropa, Bonner Jahrbiicher 153, 13-45. OXFORDJOURNALOF ARCHAEOLOGY 0 Basil Blackwell Ltd. 1993

Unity and Diversity in the European Iron Age: Out of the Mists, Some Clarity?

“…These rectangular earthwork enclosures in Germany and Bohemia, with parallels in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, were classified as shrines in the 1960s and 1970s based on limited excavations. Reanalysis indicates they are less similar than once thought and they appear to have varied functions (Bradley 2003) such as feasting sites (Murray 1995), elite farms, areas to store food for redistribution, or even shifting over time from sacred to ordinary uses (Venclova 1993(Venclova , 1997(Venclova , 1998. Arnold (2002, p. 132) notes that Viereckschanzen are often closely associated with earlier mound cemeteries near enclosed hilltop sites.…”

“…A type of structure once considered to clearly represent ritual architecture, enclosures called Viereckschanzen, recently has been questioned by some skeptics (Venclova 1993). These rectangular earthwork enclosures in Germany and Bohemia, with parallels in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, were classified as shrines in the 1960s and 1970s based on limited excavations.…”

“…This debate hinges on the definition of sacred or ritual space: some archaeologists determine religious activity by an exclusive use of structures or areas for rituals, accompanied by clear votive objects (Venclova 1993). But as noted above, recent thought considers the revelation that many societies practice less separation between ritual and daily life and that a fusion of the ritual and domestic characterizes much Iron Age settlement (Cavers 2006, p. 389); those tending the offering place also may have lived there and maintained their own households.…”

Atlantic Europe in the First Millennium BC

“…Increasingly too, other material such as quern stones can be seen to have had a role in such depositional practices. As in Britain, this has led to reappraisal of the division between the sacred and profane, with many of the rectangular enclosures referred to as Viereckschanzen (Webster 1995: 453), previously regarded as sacred sites, now increasingly recognised as domestic settlements with the types of deposition familiar from settlements elsewhere (Venclová 1993;Von Nicolai 2009).…”

A Life Less Ordinary: the Ritualization of the Domestic Sphere in Later Prehistoric Europe

“…did not include any shafts and that other kinds of building could be found which were of similar character to those recorded in settlements. Moreover, buildings very like the 'shrine' identified at Holzhausen came to light amidst the structures on occupation sites of the same period (Venclová 1993;Murray 1995). How far was it appropriate to distinguish between these earthworks and the remaining components of the Iron Age landscape?…”