UD: Dec. 2018



Kujawy is a historical region in north-central Poland, situated on the left bank of the Vistula, and east of the Noteć river and Lake Goplo. Archaeological research over the past decade has revealed a wealth of new information about the Celtic presence in this area of Poland in the pre-Roman era.



Celtic gold stater from Kujawy (1st c. BC)

(After Andrałojć 2014 )

One of the most interesting recent discoveries from the Kujawy region is a small bronze Celtic pendant/amulet in the shape of a dog discovered at the Gąski site (loc cit). The bronze amulet features the animal with an elongated body (5.2 cm long), a delicate snout, accentuated ears (the endings of the ears are broken), and a long, curved tail. The animal bears a striking resemblance to a modern Dachshund/Sausage Dog, and the amulet has a large ring for hanging on a chain.



The Celtic Dog Amulet from Kujawy

(After Andrałojć M. (2014) fig. 11; On the Celts in Poland see also: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/the-celts-in-poland/)

Confirmation of the religious significance of the dog in Celtic culture is provided by extensive archaeological evidence. Dogs as amulets in Celtic cremation graves, dated to Late La Tène period, have been found in Hessen, Germany. The ten small sculptures are made of clay, bronze, glass or jet, and all found in the burials of women or girls (Polenz 1975). A number of Celtic dog amulets are also known from eastern Europe – e.g. finds from eastern Hungary, the oppidum at Stradonice, the sites at Belušske Slatiny, Nimnica, Esztergom, and the Celtic oppidum at Stare Hradisko (Veres 2009:231‑237, 234, Filip 1956, Pl.125:9; Pieta 2008, F.32:4, F.31:4, F.31:1). Bronze dog figurines have also recently been found among the votive offerings at the Celtic settlement at Nĕmčice-Vícemĕřice (Czech Republic).



Bronze votive figurines of birds, dogs and other animals from the Celtic settlement at Nĕmčice-Vícemĕřice

(after Cizmar et al 2008)

Dog (wolf?) pendant/talisman (bronze) from the Celtic settlement at Esztergom, northern Hungary

(2-1 c. BC)

Head of a dog, with open jaws and long swirling tongue, on the reverse of a bronze issue of the Biturges Cubi tribe from Gaul (ca. 70 BC)

Dogs appear frequently in Celtic artwork and in Celtic myths and legends as the companions of kings and warriors, and representatives of the Gods (Green 2004:16,175). The animal possessed both mundane value and spiritual importance in Celtic culture. Hunting and herding were mainstays of early economies in the Celtic world and these economic activities made dogs highly valued, being closely connected with both the spiritual and practical aspects of healing, hunting and death.



Obverse of a Celtic tetradrachm (Croatia-mid 3rd c. BC), featuring a bearded God with a tiny dog dancing on his nose…



A rather bizarre scene of a dog savaging a humanoid creature, depicted on the reverse of a Celtic coin (potin), Paris region, 1 c. BC

Dog riding a horse, triskele below. Silver drachm (reverse) of the Carnutes tribe in Gaul (2/1 c. BC)

One of the most important sacred aspects of dogs in Celtic culture was its close association with healing. In the area inhabited by the Celts, representations of dogs often appear together with gods providing fertility and good harvest (e.g. female deities depicted with pomegranate fruit or cornucopias). Similarly, Celtic goddesses of hunting (Abnoba and Arduinna) were shown in the company of a dog (Andralojc 1993:102-104).

The Celtic goddess Nehalennia has a relationship with dogs that is similar to that of the goddess Epona with horses. Nehalennia was a goddess worshipped as a provider of prosperity and healing, and was usually portrayed with a dog and a basket of fruit. The healing aspects of dogs are also present in the iconography associated with the British god Nodens, who may be a British representation of the Irish god Nuadu (Green 2004:16; on the Celtic Horse Goddess Epona see: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/epona-the-celtic-horse-goddess-in-thrace/).



The importance of the dog in Celtic culture is also emphasized by the frequency with which the Celtic term for Dog/Hound is found in Celtic personal names.





The CUNORIX inscription from Wroxeter, (Shropshire) England (CISP = WRXTR/1)

CVNORIX | MACVSM/A | QVICO[L]I[N]E

= Hound-King, son of The Son of the Holly (Wright/Jackson 1968)

https://www.academia.edu/14329263/KINGS_OF_THE_WORLD_-_On_The_Nature_of_Celtic_Personal_Names



Miniature glass dog from a Celtic burial (#31) at Wallertheim, (Rhineland) Germany

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LITERATURE CITED

Andrałojć M (1993) Rola psa w obrzędowości pradziejowych ludow Europy Środkowej [w:] Wierzenia przedchrześcijańskie na ziemiach polskich, (red.) M. Kwapiński, H. Paner. Gdańsk

Andrałojć M. and Andrałojć M. (2014) The unknown face of the Lugian Federation– Celtic coinage in the Polish lands Inowrocław–Poznań 2014

Filip J. (1956) Keltove ve středni Evrope. Monumenta Archaeologica 5, Prague.

H. Polenz (1975) ‘Latènezeitliche Hundeplastiken aus Süd- und Rheinhessen’, Fundberichte aus Hessen 14, 1974 (pr. 1975), 255-307.

Green M. (2004) The Gods of the Celts. Sutton.

Pieta K. (2008) Keltske osidlenie Slovenska. Mladša doba latenska, Archaeologica Slovaca

Monographiae, Nitra.

Veres J. (2009) The depiction of a carnyx-player from the Carpathian Basin. A study of two Celtic bronze statuettes from eastern Hungary, Archaologisches Korrespondenzblatt, Bd. 39, H. 2, S. 231‑248.

Cizmar V.M., Eva Kolníková E., Noeske H. (2008) Nĕmčice-Vícemĕřice – ein neues Handels- und Industriezentrum der Latènezeit in Mähren. Vorbericht. In: GERMANIA 86, 2008

Mac Congail