Arheološki vestnik 61, 2010, str. 175-186 175 Cernunnos in Slovenia? Marjeta ŠAŠEL KOS Izvleček Abstract Na nagrobniku s sedmimi doprsji iz 2. ali 3. stoletja po A tombstone with seven busts (second or early third Kr., ki je bil najden zelo verjetno v Črnomlju v Beli Kra- century AD), which was most probably discovered at jini, so na obeh stranskih ploskvah ohranjene slabo vidne Črnomelj in Bela Krajina, displays poorly visible side reliefs. reliefne upodobitve. Na desni strani je prikazan moški z On the right side a human figure with horns and hooves rogovi in kopiti ter pes, ki ga grize v stegno. Na levi zgo- and a dog trying to bite his thigh are depicted. On the left raj je upodobljen konjenik s kopjem v roki, spodaj pa tri a horseman holding a spear is represented in the upper osebe; srednja je ženska, pred katero stoji moški s kopjem. field, while in the lower part three figures are depicted, Peter Petru je zelo poškodovane reliefe razložil kot prizore, of whom the middle one is a woman; a man with a spear povezane s kultom keltskega boga Cernuna in žrtvovanjem is standing in front of her. človeka, vendar podrobnosti, ki jih je mogoče razločiti, ne Peter Petru explained the badly preserved figures as ustrezajo njegovi interpretaciji. Gre za upodobitev mita o scenes referring to the Celtic god Cernunnos and to hu- Aktajonu, ki ga je Artemida/Diana spremenila v jelena in man sacrifice performed in his honour. However, these so ga raztrgali lastni psi. depictions would better correspond to the episodes from the myth of Actaeon. Ključne besede: rimska doba, Slovenija, Črnomelj, Panonija, Cernunos, Aktajon Keywords: Roman period, Slovenia, Črnomelj, Pan- nonia, Cernunnos, Actaeon THE TOMBSTONE FROM BELA KRAJINA with two simply hollowed fields of portraits pre- WITH PORTRAITS AND SIDE RELIEFS served, while the lower, inscribed, part is broken off (75 × 85 × 31.5 cm). Its surface is badly damaged. In the Roman lapidarium of the National Museum The three portraits in the upper field represent a of Slovenia an interesting tombstone with seven mother, father, and their son in the middle, while busts is on display, of local grey limestone and of the four busts in the lower field may represent rustic workmanship, probably from the second their other children, of whom the first might be century AD. Although its exact provenance has their grown-up daughter, the second a son, the long been regarded as unknown, recently evalu- third a daughter, and the last a small boy (fig. 1). ated archivale data, as well as similar stelae with The main point of interest is represented by portraits, make it almost certain that it originates very badly preserved reliefs on both side panels; from Črnomelj in Bela Krajina.1 The upper part of those on the left are divided into an upper and a the tombstone terminates in a rectangular frame, lower field. Above, a rider is depicted, brandishing 1 AIJ 492 = RINMS 149 = ILSl 167; Lovenjak 2008, neously considered all stelae in the National Museum as 90–91. Cf. Ferri 1933, 105, fig. 109 on p. 121, who erro- originating from Emona. AV_61_Marjeta.indd 175 10.11.2010 13:29:54 176 Marjeta ŠAŠEL KOS Fig. 1: Tombstone from Bela Krajina, probably Črnomelj: AIJ 492 = RINMS 149 = ILSl 167. Sl. 1: Nagrobnik iz Bele Krajine, verjetno iz Črnomlja: AIJ 492 = RINMS 149 = ILSl 167. a spear in his right hand. Below him three figures a spear?) in his raised hand is depicted. Behind are represented: the middle one is a woman bend- the woman there is an unidentifiable figure, not ing down towards something at her feet, while in only badly carved but also much eroded. On the front of her a figure holding something (perhaps right side panel a human figure with antlers and AV_61_Marjeta.indd 176 10.11.2010 13:29:56 Cernunnos in Slovenia? 177 hooves is depicted, and a dog trying to bite his been noticed by the scholars who had published thigh (fig. 2). the tombstone earlier.2 He explained the reliefs as Peter Petru devoted an article specifically to depicting human sacrifice, performed by the central the badly preserved side scenes, which had not female figure on the left, below the horseman. This rite should in his opinion be related to the cult of Cernunnos, the Celtic god with antlers (allegedly represented on the right side panel), which would have still survived into the Roman period.3 His thesis found general acceptance not only among Slovenian, but also among foreign scholars.4 Recently Mitja Guštin in an important article analyzed remains of figural art among the Taurisci, the Celtic people living south of the Karavanke Mts., particularly in Dolenjska (Lower Carniola). He accepted Petru’s identification of the main figure with antlers as Cernunnos (similar to some of the depictions on the rocks in Val Cammonica), quot- ing, like Petru, as the best analogy the depiction of the god on the Gundestrup cauldron (fig. 3).5 Both scholars seem to see details in these reliefs that can no longer be discerned and could at best be declared ambiguous. Somehow differently, Ma- rina Milićević Bradač, also citing Petru, refers to the figure as an antlered man, a man-deer, who may have been able to communicate with a god such as Cernunnos, a “Master of animals”, in a 2 Saria in AIJ 492, and Ferri 1933, cit. 3 Petru 1961. Fig. 2: Drawing of the side reliefs. 4 Euskirchen 1997; Hachmann 1990, 831. Sl. 2: Risba reliefov na stranskih ploskvah. 5 Guštin 2006, 125–127. Fig. 3: Cernunnos on the Gundestrup cauldron. From: Hachmann 1990, Insert 10. 2. Sl. 3: Cernunos s kotla iz Gundestrupa. Iz: Hachmann 1990, priloga 10, 2. AV_61_Marjeta.indd 177 10.11.2010 13:29:58 178 Marjeta ŠAŠEL KOS similar way as shamans did. Regenerative power were conquered by the Romans.12 Reports of the of antlers could be percieved as symbolizing the ritual killing of war prisoners, for example, were eternal regeneration cycle.6 also recorded for the Celtic Scordisci, who alleg- In the course of the revision of all Roman edly “sacrificed human blood to their gods, and stone monuments in the Museum lapidarium for drank from human skulls”.13 publication, my attention was also drawn to this To sacrifice a human being was believed to be stele with portraits. Clearly, it would have been most important when human life had been gravely entirely incongruous that a human sacrifice, as a endangered, as in the case of wars, natural catas- currently performed rite, could be depicted on a trophes, or diseases and epidemics. The divinity tombstone from Roman Pannonia, or, indeed, from responsible for having saved a human life could anywhere in the Roman Empire. Stanko Kokole only be appeased by another man’s life. Caesar kindly suggested that the scenes be interpreted as called the gods of the Celts by Roman names, and three episodes from the myth of Actaeon.7 How- it can legitimately be asked to what extent such ever, it would not be impossible that some time in a Roman interpretation was at all adequate. He the future a dedication or an image of Cernunnos claimed that Mercury was the most popular god will also appear in Slovenia, perhaps on a Roman among them, since the Celts regarded him as the period altar or depicted on a Celtic artefact.8 inventor of all the crafts, a divine guide on their travels, and a patron of commerce. According to Caesar, they further worshipped Apollo, Mars, Ju- celtic Gods, HUman secrifice, and piter, and Minerva, and he added that the concepts CERNUNNOS they had of these gods did not differ much from the ideas of other peoples about them.14 Tacitus The peoples known by the classical writers as the made a similar statement concerning the religion Celts worshipped many gods and goddesses, and of the Germans, who would also have worshipped so did the Celtic Taurisci, which is well confirmed above all Mercury, and next to him Hercules and by the numerous Celtic deities epigraphically Mars. On certain occasions they would sacrifice attested in the regions of Celeia and Poetovio.9 a human being to Mercury.15 Some are noted or described by Greek and Latin Caesar’s narrative can be supplemented by authors, and these testimonies have been pub- the data in Lucan, who described the three main lished by Ioannes Zwicker10 and recently, in two gods of the Celts with their Celtic names: Esus, excellent monographs, by Andreas Hofeneder.11 Taranis, and Teutates, claiming that all three of Caesar, who fought against the Celts in free Gaul them demanded human sacrifice.16 This passage for eight years during his proconsulship in both is accompanied by scholia containing a short com- Galliae (Cisalpina and Transalpina) and Illyricum, mentary, in which Esus is equated both with Mars and eventually subdued most of them, is often and with Mercury. Taranis, who was regarded as cited as an important authority on Celtic gods, being the supreme god of the Celts, was made equal cults and rituals. He described their religion in to Jupiter.17 He is often represented with a wheel the sixth book of his Gallic War, where he also and may have been the same as Caesar’s Dis Pater. mentioned the importance of human sacrifice Caesar mentioned that, according to the teachings among the Celts, who had practised it before they of the Druids, Dis Pater would have been the father 12 He dedicated ch. 16 to this topic. 6 Milićević Bradač 2002, 23; cf.