Distribution during the Iron Age of human skulls found near the location where they were displayed (city gate, pillars, etc.), or fragments dispersed within the settlement.
Here : human skulls
Distribution during the Iron Age of human skulls found near the location where they were displayed (city gate, pillars, etc.), or fragments dispersed within the settlement.
Here : Dispersed skull fragments
The ancestor cult
The Celtic belief in the survival of the “superior” spirit (located in the skull) and its potential reincarnation, as well in divinatory practices, favored the development during the southern Iron Age of rituals associated with ancestor relics.
Those considered to be the most remarkable were raised to the status of hero with a direct link to the gods. In addition, the recounting of their stories and glorification of their power,
transmitted by chants of bards, created a powerful social cement among the still relatively
mobile communities.
…used to the advantage of the aristrocracy
The southern Protohistoric peoples of the second Iron Age were directed by an elite class, followed by a truly aristocratic class, from which the priestly class emerged. The use of such beliefs for the benefit of the great lineages became one of their cultural characteristics.
Here, more than elsewhere in Gaul, the power of this phenomenon led very early to a desire to perpetuate the practice in stone. Engraved and sculpted figurations developed essentially in the lower Rhone Valley and Western France. Entremont is the best example.