Author(s): Miranda K. Green (Head, Archaeological Research Centre, University of Wales College, Newport)

History

Warlike, exuberant and superstitious, the ancient Celts saw divinities in every facet of life and nature, venerating deities of the sun, thunder, water, war, healing, hunting, fertility and death. They possessed a complicated array of concepts and rituals, a powerful priesthood - the Druids - and a pantheon which included the goddess-queen Medb and the Morrigan, a sinister war-goddess.