Mysteries of the Druids

(*)

Caesar became the first Roman and the first commander, who in 55 BC. landed on the shores of Britain with two legions. When he learned of the barbarity of the Celts, he called this people "evil barbarians." He was especially struck by the Druids who practiced cannibalism and sacrifice. But what really was this pagan cult? What secrets did the druids guard?

Those who know more

As soon as the druids were not called: shamans, teachers, philosophers ... In fact, the Druids are a layer of priests in the Celtic tribes of Western Europe that existed in the II century BC. - I century AD. The druids after themselves did not leave not one written source. We know about them mainly from the works of ancient authors - Posidonius, Strabo, Cicero, Pliny the Elder, Pomponius Mel, Tacitus.

According to their information, the Druids were the bearers of quasi-scientific knowledge, which were transmitted orally and were forbidden to record on pain of death, although the Druids had a written language - the Celtic writing "ogam" is known from 600 BC.

This prohibition on the creation of books is explained by the closedness of the caste of the priests. The Druids also engaged in the education of boys, among whom, after lengthy training, they chose the most worthy ones to fill their ranks. The most complete source of information about the druids are the "Notes on the Gallic War" by Julius Caesar, in which the first person is told the story of his warrior with Gaul in 59-51 years BC.

In letters to the Senate, Caesar described the barbarian tribes of Britain as people of a strange and spiteful appearance. "They paint their faces and body with blue paint to frighten the enemy, they wear long hair and shave their bodies ..."

The Britons described by Caesar were in fact Celts, whose clans feuded among themselves, despite having a common culture and common gods. According to Caesar, the Druids, the priests of the Celtic cult, had very great powers. "... They not only resolved disputes between tribes, their word declared at some court was the ultimate truth, some druids were advisers to the leaders or had family ties with them."

The powers of the Druids were not limited only to political issues, they conducted rituals on which the welfare of both the individual society and the entire tribe depended. According to Caesar, in these rituals there were also human sacrifices.

"They sacrifice prisoners so that the gods will be kind to them." The druids make big scarecrows out of the vine, the insides of which are filled with live people, and then they are burned ... "" ... If prisoners are not enough, they sacrifice innocent people, believing that in this way the gods will always be favorable to them. "

Modern historians for a long time could not answer the question, is it possible to believe the words of Caesar? After describing the barbarians, he was guided primarily by his interests. He needed an excuse to seize Britain. Why not call the Britons and druids cannibals?

The Romans and the Druids

The Romans sincerely believed that civilization was born to the world. Until the end of 51 BC. they finally conquered Gaul, which became part of the Roman Empire. The Romans here banned druism and conducting any rituals.

Britain, the Druid stronghold, was holding on. Even when there were massive uprisings in Gaul against the Romans, there were rumors that Druids were arriving from the British islands, which helped organize the resistance movement.

The next 100 years the English Channel was the border of the empire, beyond which lived the barbarians. And it was the Druids who were the ones who inspired the Celts to fight the invaders. Speaking in modern language, Britain remained the main center of druism after the Romans destroyed it in the rest of Europe.

The main goal of the Romans, in addition to establishing world domination, was the destruction of the terrible barbarian cult of the Druids.

In 43 AD, centuries after the departure of Julius Caesar from Britain, the Emperor Claudius began a new invasion of the islands, which was the decisive clash not only between the Romans and the Celts, but also between the Romans and the Druids. This time the Roman army consisted of four legions, which went through the country of Britain, destroying everything in its path.

The Romans quickly captured the south east of Britain and signed an alliance with the local tribes, but they were repulsed in the north, west and Wales. Celts thanks to the druids confidently tuned in to the fight.

From the Latin sources it is known that the Druids conducted special rituals and rituals to defeat the Romans, and conducted ritual human sacrifices on sacred glades. What was true was confirmed in 2000, when in the west of England in a cave near Alveston village in Gloucestershire, speleologists found many human bones.

Archaeologist Mark Gorton of the University of Bristol, who conducted excavations, claimed: this is the place of the ritual. Bodies brought here specially. But who were these 150 people, whose remains were found in the cave? An analysis of the findings showed that these people died in the 1st century AD in a short period of time. Further more, all the victims were local residents, and their deaths - violent.

It is known that until the end of 43 AD, the future emperor Vespasian opposed the western tribes of Britain. So historians at first admitted that they were their victims. But here the new find was the key to the answer. Among the human bones in the cave were found and dog bones. So these people and animals were not just killed. It was a ritual sacrifice. It is known that the local Celts worshiped the god Nodens, who was accompanied by a dog. A few kilometers from Alveston, the Romans even built a temple for Nodens and introduced the deity into their pantheon.

Did the Celts perform mass human sacrifices to Nodens? Mark Gorton is convinced: these sacrifices are directly related to the arrival of the Romans in North England in 43.

The Romans had a significant advantage, so that the Celts had nothing else to do but fight the enemy with the help of Druid magic.

Eye for an eye

Celts believed, if to sacrifice 100 people, then the gods will help to kill 100 enemies. So, using the tactic "tooth for tooth", thanks to the magic of the Druids, the Celts were supposed to defeat the Romans.

Soon scientists came to the stunning news: the Gorton team found in the cave and broken human bones. After the study, experts found that these bones of people who ate ...

The fact that the Celts resorted to ritual cannibalism is known from the works of Pliny the Elder. According to him, the Druids believed not only that the sacrifice will propitiate the gods, but that "... the eating of the victims gives life energy."

Similarly, Mark Gorton admitted that cannibalism in the Alveston was a forced measure that would frighten the enemy.

But neither the ritual sacrifice performed by the druids nor cannibalism helped the Celts defend their lands and faith.

The fact that the Druids actually stood at the head of the people's militia against the authority of the Romans was confirmed by another find.

On August 1, 1984, Andy Mold worker in the peat of Lindow near the village of Moberly, Cheshire, found a human leg. The man called the police, and she reported the find to the scientists. A group of archaeologists surveyed the quagmire and found a body at a depth of 2.5 meters, which eventually was called "The Man with Lindou."

Archaeologist Miranda Aldgaus-Green made a statement after all the examinations: the analysis showed that the man died in the middle of the 1st century, during the Roman conquest.

The body that lay in the swamp was very well preserved - even the skin and internal organs were whole. Forensic medical examination found that the man was killed. And the murder was three-stage. First, a man was hit on the head with something heavy, but so that he did not kill immediately, then they tightened his neck with a rope and only after that they cut his throat.

Miranda Aldgaus-Green is convinced that this murder is identical to the ritual killing of the Celts, which they dedicated to the three gods. In addition, the number three in the Celts was considered a magic number. So it can be argued that the death of a man is associated with the rite of the druids.

The last confirmation of the Druids' involvement in the murders was the remnants of the mistletoe traces found in the esophagus and stomach of the unhappy. This plant - mistletoe - occupied a special place in the religious cult of the druids. Pliny wrote that the Druids "... cut it off with golden sickles from the sacred oaks ..." One can assume that the "Man with Lindou" was sacrificed so that the gods would stop the Romans. But this sacrifice was useless. The human sacrifice did not stop the Romans.

The End of the Druids

In 61 AD, the Roman governor Gaius Suetonius Pauline led his legions north, to Anglesey, where the Druids collected people from all over North Wales.

The historian Tacitus described the things that the Romans saw: "... Many armed men gathered at the seaside, among them flaming women with mournful torches with disheveled hair like furies, the druids raising their hands to heaven called the curse on their heads enemies ... "

According to Tacitus, in the first few minutes the Roman soldiers were dumbfounded by the frightened, but then on the orders of Pauline the army went on the offensive. The Celts were finally defeated.

In the story of Tacitus there is an interesting detail: the Roman soldiers took the torches from the Celts and used this fire against themselves, setting fire to the bodies of the dead, and then the Romans went to the sacred glade where the Druids and their altars were found. They killed everyone, cut down the clearing, and proclaimed the druids outlawed.

The Romans justified their cruelty with the bloody rituals of the druids, to which they put an end. Modern archaeological studies confirm the words of Julius Caesar. The Druids actually had a special cult of death. Together with the druids, their centuries-old wisdom and knowledge also disappeared. The millennial culture was washed away with blood ...