the road from the ends of the earth · tribal centre tribal centre more than 1000 m. from a line...
TRANSCRIPT
200
kms
IBE
RIA
NS
Ars
e(S
agun
to)
Car
thag
e
And
orra
Col
de
Pani
ssar
s
Aga
tha
(Agd
e)
Nar
bo(N
arbo
nne)
Mas
salia
(Mar
seill
e)LIG
UR
IAN
SETRUSCANS
Batt
le o
fT
icin
us(H
anni
bal)
Rhodanus(Rhone)
12
3
4
Nem
auso
s(N
îmes
)
Garu
mna
(Gar
onne
)
Sequ
ana
(Sein
e)
Arar (Saône
)
Lugd
unum
(Lyo
n)
Ale
sia
Sanc
tuar
y of
Her
cule
s(D
eneu
vre)
Ister
(Dan
ube)
Solis
col
umna
(‘Pilla
r of t
he S
un’)
Alps
Her
cyni
an F
ores
t
Mat
rona
Pass
Rom
e
Med
iterr
anea
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a
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a
Druentia (Dura
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Car
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arta
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Port
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Sacr
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(Sag
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Fist
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Bay
ofBi
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anus
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(Wes
tern
Oce
an)Fini
stèr
e
Bele
rion
Cas
site
ride
s?(‘T
in Is
land
s’)
Gad
es(C
adiz
) Pilla
rs o
fH
ercu
les
CE
LT
IBE
RIA
NS
Pyre
nees
GA
UL
S
1. P
lain
of t
he C
rau
2. R
oque
mau
re (
Rho
ne c
ross
ing)
3. S
erre
-la-C
roix
opp
idum
4. B
riga
ntiu
m (
Bria
nçon
)
Med
iola
num
1. The Road from the Ends of the Earth
Île d
e Se
in
Hue
lgoa
tOs
ismi
Sées
Sagii
Évre
ux
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lerc
iM
ont
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illy-
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irom
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on(B
ibra
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s
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nne
(Cam
p du
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teau
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none
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ont
Chât
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i
Châl
ons
(Mon
t Jo
vis)
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laun
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Luxe
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urAd
uatu
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Baill
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Bello
vaci
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-Pla
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ranc
ourt
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ani
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aut
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Capu
t Ca
leti
Chât
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euf-
sur-
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Carn
utes
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Boii
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)
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e
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Vind
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atici
100
Km
s
Trib
al c
entr
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ibal
cen
tre
mor
e th
an10
00 m
. fro
m a
line
Oth
er s
ites
Mou
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ss
41. Tribal centres and the migration to Italy
The names in boxes are those of tribes who migrated to Italy. A solar
line – sometimes more than one – passes directly through a Gaulish tribal
centre in twenty-fi ve cases and within 1000 metres of the site’s perimeter
in twelve further cases (on average, 750 metres). In Italy, beyond Milan, the
system suggests a general direction of migration rather than an exact trajectory.
Paths of the Gods 155
The legend is entirely plausible, except in one respect: the god-given itinerary looks very odd indeed. Unless Bellovesus and his followers mistook the lacy ridge of the Dentelles de Montmirail for a range of mountains, the territory of the Tricastini is a strange place from which to contemplate the distant Alps. Either they ignored the direction assigned to them by the Druids, or the gods’ instruc-tions were exceedingly complicated: south-south-east, a deviation towards Massalia, then north-east, and fi nally south-east to New Mediolanum (fi g. 40).
This all sounds like a post facto justifi cation of military conquest, a boastful bardic tale designed to make the events fi t a spurious divine plan. Yet Livy, like most ancient historians, accepted the divinatory basis of the expedition. Justinus, too, in describing the Celtic coloni-zation of Italy and later migrations to the east, said – presuming that
Several minor oppida on the lines have been omitted (e.g. Les Baux-de-
Provence, Mondeville by Caen, Malaucène, Vézénobres, etc.), as have tribes
whose names or capitals are unknown (e.g. the Budenicenses and the inhabitants
of Marduel and Tarusco). Some tribes or tribal names may diff er from those of
the fourth century bc.
Speculative journeys along the lines will reveal many other likely sites for
which there is, at the time of writing, insuffi cient archaeological evidence (e.g.
Dôle, Jouarre, Luxembourg, Montpellier, Najac, Treviso).
Bearings – taken where possible from the nodal points of Mediolanum
Biturigum and Alesia – are those provided by the tangent ratio of 11:7 (57.53°,
122.47°, etc.), with the exception of the Alesia–Bibracte–Gergovia line, which,
for geographical reasons, is 28.2° from north rather than 28.8° (see pp. 197–8).
The creation of a settlement obviously depended in part on topography, and
so some leeway was presumably allowed. With a slightly broader margin, several
more tribes could join the total of thirty-seven. Major oppida occurring more
than 1000 metres from a line are indicated on the map: Arvii (1.5 km), Cenomani
(1.5), Remi (at Bibrax) (1.7), Bergistani (2.4), Laietani (2.4), Atacini (3.1), Seduni
(3.5), Ruteni (3.6), Consoranni (4.0), Atrebates (4.1), Morini (4.1), Nervii (4.1),
Sagii (4.4), Ausetani (4.8), Osismi (4.8), Sequani (5.0), Veragri (5.0), Aduatuci
(5.3). In retracing ancient surveys, especially over such long distances, common
sense calls for certain adjustments. Future explorers of the system should feel
free to experiment.
Ale
sia
Boii
Boii
Boii?
Boii?
Boii?
Hel
vetii
Rau
raci
Boii
Med
iola
nu
m
Bitu
rigu
mM
ed
iola
nu
m(M
ilan)
Mag
dale
nsbe
rg
Nem
etes
Tect
osag
es
1
23
4
5
6
7
8
9
9
Port
aH
ercy
niae
Záv
ist
Star
éH
radi
sko
Med
iola
nu
m
Spey
erSy
lvaAr
guen
neis
Ardu
enna
Silva
Silva
Car
bona
ria
Man
chin
gM
ed
iola
nu
m
Med
iola
nu
m
Her
cuni
ates
Belg
rade
1. H
arz
2. W
este
rwal
d3. T
huri
nger
Wal
d4. E
rzge
birg
e5. O
denw
ald
6. B
lack
For
est
7. B
ohem
ian
Fore
st8. B
akon
y Fo
rest
9. C
arpa
thia
ns
Sofia
Del
phi
Balli
hisa
rAnk
ara
Troc
mii
Tolis
tobo
gii
/ Boi
i?
Tect
osag
es
Rom
e
Szal
acsk
aBuda
pest
Zem
plin
Reg
öly
Brat
isla
va
Tect
osag
es
Garo
nne
Loire
Sein
e
Rhone
Rhine
Rhine
Elbe
Dan
ube
Dan
ube
200
kms
Opp
idum
Med
iola
num
Oth
er L
ocat
ion
Fore
st
43. Oppida east of Gaul and remnants of the Hercynian Forest
The Hercuniates might have reached their new home (the oppida around Lake
Balaton) by travelling due east along the equinoctial line from Mediolanum Biturigum,
via the capital of the Helvetii and the sources of the Rhone and the Rhine.
Bury StEdmunds
IxworthIckworth
Magiovinium(Fenny Stratford)
OxfordCaesaromagus(Chelmsford)
Durobrivae(Rochester)
Hæstingaceaster(Hastings)
Noviomagus(Chichester)
Venta(Winchester)
Salisbury
AbbotsburyCastle
Isca(Topsham)
TamariOstia
Place referred to in the textLindinis
(Ilchester)
GlastonburyTor
Wanborough
BagendonPiercefield
fort
SuttonWalls
Worcester
Wardy Hill
PeterboroughCaister-on-Sea
Pendinas
Aberffraw
Alauna(Alcester)
Reading
Leucomagus(East Anton)
Verlamion(St Albans)
(Plymouth)
Tripontium(nr Rugby)
Mediolanum(Whitchurch)
DinasEmrys
Deva (Chester)
Luguvalium(Carlisle)
Rubers Law
Trimontium
Traprain Law
Din Eidyn(Edinburgh)
Medionemeton
BrownCaterthun
100 kms
62. The British network
The network so far. All bearings are exact (tan ratio 4:3).
244 THE ANCIENT PATHS
Salisbury
1. Fosse Way2. Watling Street3. Icknield Way4. Ermin Street
Exeter
Chichester
Silchester
Oxford WelwynSt Albans
Bury StEdmunds
Wardy Hill
Lincoln
Leeds
Chester
Dinas Oleu
Dinas Emrys
2
3
4
Pendinas
Worcester
Gloucester
Cirencester
1
50 kms
tan ratio 4:336.87°
53.13°Solstice lines
64. The Four Royal Roads and the Roman road system
All these survey lines have a tan ratio of 4:3. The Exeter–Lincoln line (the Fosse
Way) implies a survey tolerance (acceptable deviation from the survey line) of
0.59°. The southern terminus of the Roman Fosse Way was probably Ilchester,
which lies on the Whitchurch meridian: this Roman road has a tan ratio of 3:5
(bearing 30.96°, with a survey tolerance of 0.44°.)
Watling Street; Ermin Street is the winter solstice line, bisected by the Fosse Way.*
* Ermine Street, which ran approximately north from London, shows no obviously signifi cant bearing, whereas Ermin Street (north-west from Silchester) follows the British solstice bearing. Medieval scholars chose what they believed to be the more important ‘Ermyngestrete’, though in some versions of the legend (e.g. Robert of Gloucester’s thirteenth-century Chronicle), ‘Eningestret’ is paired with ‘Ikenildestrete’, as it is on the map above: ‘Lyne me clepeth eke thulke wey, he goth thorgh Glouceter, / And thorgh Circetre [Cirencester] euene also’.
50 kmsPetuaria
Parisorum(Brough)
YeaveringBell
Traprain Law/ Dunpelder
BrownCaterthun
Lumphanan
Culloden
Dunalastair 1
23
4
5
DunollieDundurn
Dunadd
OceanusSeptentrionalis
OceanusHibernicus
OceanusHyperboreus
Stanwick
Rubers Law
Trusty’sHill
to DinasEmrys andPendinas
to Mediolanum(Whitchurch)
Luguvalium(Carlisle) 17’24”
HumberEstuary
17’54”
18’24”
Trimontium(Eildon Hill)
Din Eidyn(Edinburgh)
CraigPhadraig(Inverness)
BaileDhubhthaich
(Tain)
Din Guardi(Bamburgh)
Nemthur(Dumbarton)
Brocavum(Eamont)
Probable Celtic tribal capitalPost-Roman, Dark Age capital or ‘royal site’
Nemeton (sanctuary)TripointOther placeAntonine WallHadrian’s WallModern English–Scottish border
1. Taigh nan Teud2. Schiehallion / Maiden Pap3. Tigh Neimhidh (Duneaves, Fortingall)4. Gartincaber Tower near Doune5. Medionemeton
Centres of Scotland
(unconfirmed)
74. Centres of Scotland and the Caledonian meridians
Some capitals of Dark Age kingdoms founded after the departure of the Romans
were probably the successors of Iron Age capitals. The only plausible solstice
diagonal in Caledonia is the trajectory of the ‘Royal Road’ along which Boudica
marched from Wardy Hill to Camulodunum. This is the longest diagonal that can
be drawn through Britain. It passes to the west of the tribal capital of the Carvetii
tribe, Luguvalium (Carlisle), through Brocavum (Eamont), Blatobulgium and several
other Roman forts, and along the route of the A74 via Gretna Green to the site
of the Glasgow Necropolis. It is shown as a dotted line in fi gure 79.
50 kms
1
23
4
5
‘Royal Roads’ and solstice linesfrom the Oxford omphalos
Lines of latitude and longitude
Solstice lines implied by the system
Early Christian sites
Monasteries and cathedrals
6
7 89 10
1112
1314
15
16
17
18
19
20
2122
2324
25 26 2728
AB
C
D
E
F
G H
I
JK
L M
NO
P
Q
R
S
T
29 30 31
32
3837 3940
4142
43 44
45
46 4748
49
50
51
52
53
545556
5758 59
60
61
62
63 64 6566 67
6869
70
71
7273
7475
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83 8485
86 8788
89
90
9192
343335 36
79. Christianity and the solar network
The early Christian sites (fi rst foundation, up to the mid-seventh century) are
plotted without prior reference to solstice lines. For exact coordinates, see
www.panmacmillan.com/theancientpaths. In Wales, pre-eighth-century monas-
teries are shown. Hoards containing Christian artefacts are omitted because
provenances are uncertain (Mildenhall, Traprain Law, Water Newton, etc.), as
are Christian embellishments and private chapels in Roman villas. Later monasteries
and cathedrals (c. 974–1248) are selected for their association with the system
(e.g. those on the ‘Royal Road’ between Salisbury and Bury St Edmunds: p. 239).
Key:
Early Christian sites (list of coordinates at www.panmacmillan.com/theancientpaths):
1. Iona. 2. Dumbarton. 3. Glasgow (Govan). 4. Dunfermline. 5. Mailros (Melrose).
6. Lindisfarne. 7. Kirkmadrine. 8. Whithorn. 9. Ardwall Isle. 10. Carlisle. 11.
Bewcastle. 12. Jarrow. 13. Eamont. 14. Hartlepool. 15. Whitby. 16. Manchester.
17. Leeds. 18. York. 19. Caergybi. 20. Aberff raw. 21. Penmon. 22. St Asaph. 23.
Chester. 24. Lincoln (St Paul in the Bail). 25. Clynnog Fawr. 26. Dinas Emrys. 27.
Bangor on Dee. 28. Ancaster. 29. Bardsey. 30. St Tudwal’s Island East. 31. Meifod.
32. Llanbadarn Fawr. 33. Ashton. 34. Ely. 35. Soham. 36. Icklingham. 37. Llanarth.
38. Llanddewi Brefi . 39. Glascwm. 40. Leominster. 41. Hereford. 42. Malvern (St
Ann’s Well). 43. Worcester. 44. Bannaventa. 45. St Davids. 46. St Brides. 47. Coygan
Camp. 48. Carmarthen. 49. Llanarthney. 50. Llangyfelach. 51. Bishopston. 52.
Merthyr Tydfi l. 53. Llantwit Major. 54. Raglan. 55. Dixton. 56. Llandogo. 57. Caerleon.
58. Caerwent. 59. Mathern (St Tewdric’s Well). 60. Gloucester (Churchdown Hill).
61. Uley. 62. Bagendon (church in oppidum). 63. Dragon Hill, Uffi ngton (chapel).
64. Abingdon. 65. Dorchester-on-Thames. 66. Cholesbury. 67. St Albans. 68.
Witham. 69. Colchester. 70. Sutton Hoo (?). 71. Bradwell (Othona). 72. Silchester.
73. Chertsey. 74. Westminster. 75. Rochester. 76. Canterbury. 77. Reculver. 78.
Richborough. 79. St Ives (St Ia’s). 80. St Michael’s Mount. 81. Phillack. 82. Perranporth
(St Piran’s Oratory). 83. Carhampton. 84. Glastonbury Tor (St Michael’s). 85.
Bradley Hill. 86. Muchelney. 87. Ilchester. 88. Sherborne. 89. Poundbury (Dorchester).
90. Winchester. 91. Lyminge. 92. Folkestone (St Eanswythe).
Monasteries and cathedrals (selected): A. Bolton Priory. B. Fountains Abbey.
C. Haughmond Abbey. D. Haverholme Priory. E. Croyland Abbey. F. Monmouth
Priory. G. Tintern Abbey. H. Chepstow Priory. I. Osney Abbey. J. Newnham
Priory (Bedford). K. St Neots Priory. L. Walden Abbey (Saff ron Walden). M.
Clare Priory. N. Bury St Edmunds Abbey. O. Ixworth Priory. P. Plympton Priory.
Q. Exeter Abbey. R. Salisbury Cathedral. S. Reading Abbey. T. Waverley Abbey.