Celtyckie pochówki dzików : z badań nad sepulkralnymi zwyczajami plemion celtyckich

Abstract

In the beliefs of Celtic tribes, a boar played an extremely important role. Due to its special position, it was a part of many religious traditions. What was extremely popular constituted, among other things, burials of these animals. In the case of Celts, there are two kinds of boar graves, i.e. single burials of these animals in separate graves, and human graves involving boar bones. There exist many interpretations of this type of finds. They may be connected with the composed of animals, but also zoolatry understood as a conviction that some animals are the incarnation of gods. In such a case, a single burial would be a reflection of the position animals have in their life. It is also probable that the burials of boars were connected with a curad‑mir tradition, described by Ancient authors. A suggestion was that a boar constituted an object of a magic ritual, serving the purpose of an equivalent of man. Some other views say that the burials of boars are related to funeral traditions as such, where the animal accompanied man as his/her guide on his/her way to the beyond. In view of the nature of the existing sources it is difficult to unanimously predict the aim of burying boars, however, it goes beyond doubt that the very actions were purposeful and significant for the society practising them.