Extremely Rare Haunting Iron Age Celtic Teutates Head Totem'The Blue Man'
Date: 2nd Century BC - 1st Century AD: Northern Cambridgeshire. Catuvellauni / Iceni Celtic Tribal Border Lands. [2.8]: width: 47 mm. [1.85]: thickness: 37 mm. [1.46]: weight: 152.8 grams.
The general form of the stone is oviod in shape, with four distinct lateral faces seen on plan and elevation. The quartz colour tones are seen in blue, grey and white moss like inclusions and the overall finish is a high to lower polish with viewed surface age striations. NB: I belive that this'deity form' may be a Celtic representation of Teutates. Furthermore whilst I have found other'head totems' over the past fifteen years, I have never found an example in quartz crystal/ Iolite. Toutatis or Teutates was a Celtic deity who was worshipped primarily in ancient Gaul and Britain.His name means "god of the tribe", and he has been widely interpreted as a tribal protector. According to Roman writer Lucan the Gauls offered human sacrifices to him. During the Proto-Indo-European Celtic culture the human head was venerated as a symbol of divinity and the powers of the Otherworld.. The very seat of the soul, in their ancient religious beliefs. Such head'totems' have often been found near ancient water sources and it is thought that they may have been offered to watery deities with water representing the underworld.
While the specific deities worshipped varied by region and over time, underlying this were broad similarities in both deities and "a basic religious homogeneity" among the Celtic peoples. Widely worshipped Celtic gods included Lugus, Toutatis, Taranis, Cernunnos, Epona, Maponos, Belenos, Ogmios, and Sucellos. Sacred springs were often associated with deities. Classical accounts of these practices were often extremely vivid. For example, ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus offers a detailed account in Book V of his Historical Library, written c.
36 BCE, claiming: When their enemies fall they cut off their heads and fasten them about the necks of their horses; and turning over to their attendants the arms of their opponents, all covered in blood, they carry them off as booty, singing a paean over them and striking up a song of victory, and these first fruits of battle they fasten by nails upon their houses. Here we have an extremely rare Iron Age Celtic Quartz Iolite or Sodalite mineral stone, which has been carved in the anthropomorphic form of a head totem. The head form details two recessed eyes with sagging under-rims and sunken cheeks. The nose is sub-triangular and shows a bump to the upper form.The mouth is'sullen' with a down-turned expression. The general gaze is fixed and somewhat menacing, and the peice has a unique and palpable energy. The rear of the stone is largely unworked and horizontal showing smooth wear from placement. The totem appears complete with appreciated age associated wear seen to the surface areas which, are polished with a patchy high gloss and lower gloss finish detailing blue, greay and white inclusions.
A small lateral quartz chip and lose to the mid-nose [contemporary as smooth wear to the edges is seen], is noted. The object was recovered while searching the lower collapsed banks of an ancient frozen riverbed at a vertical depth of about 5'. This river in prehistory ran at the upper fenedge as a tributary to the river Nene. The stone was conspicuous due to its unusual colour and carefully removed from its icy section. It is probably that it was once offered as a watery offering to gain favour with the deity suggested.
Reference material and further reading. Where possible ancient artifacts may be referenced to similar material observed in the following publications within my collection. Celtic & Roman Artefacts: Nigel Mills [Greenlight Publishing 2007]. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome: Mary Beard [Profile Books 2015]. 50 Bronze Age Artefacts: Portable Antiquities Scheme: Dot Boughton [Amberley Publishing 2021].
Pottery in Britain 4000BC to AD 1900: Lloyd Laing [Greenlight Publishing 2003]. British Iron Age Coins In The British Museum: Richard Hobbs [British Museum 1996]. Swords of The Viking Age: Ian Peirce: [The Boydell Press 2003]. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society Volume 85: [Cambridge University Press 2019]. Mesolithic Europe: Geoff Bailey / Penny Spikins [Cambridge University Press 2008].
Viking Art: James Graham-Campbell: [Thames & Hudson, London 2018]. 1, 2 & 3: David R Sear: [Spink London 2000]. The Roman Cavalry: Karen R. Rome's Saxon Shore: Coastal Defenses of Roman Britain AD 250 - 500: Nic Fields [Osprey Publishing 2006].
Amulets of Ancient Egypt: Carol Andrews: [University of Texas Press / British Museum Press 1994]. Where possible finger rings may be referenced to similar material observed in the following publications within my collection. Victorian and Albert Museum CATALOGUE OF FINGER RINGS 1930: C.
1991 - Now out of print. Finger Rings: Diana Scarisbrick / Martin Henig: Ashmolean Museum Oxford. Ancient Rings An Illustrated Collectors Guide: T. Polio: McFarland & Co Inc.
1000 Rings: Inspiring Adornments of the Hand: Le Van, Marthe; Ebendorf, Robert [W: Lark Books 2004].