CONGRATULATIONS!
YOU FOUND ANOTHER ONE!
Packed into the stone arch of the western gate, and partially overgrown with the vegetation which always seems to find a place to root in these walls, you discover one stone which has some rather peculiar surface irregularities. Ripping away the weeds under the watchful eye of the Roman guard, you see a face begin to emerge from the bracken. First one, then another and another and another face… Four stone faces, staring blindly at you. What could this be?
Most likely, this was a carved post or section of wall from an old Celtic shrine. We already know how fond the Celts were of taking heads in battle. These four, and who knows how many more, might represent a history of defeated enemies. Since the Celts had no real written language, such carvings may have one way of recording the history of the local clan or tribe.
The other way of keeping the histories was by memorization. It was the task of the clan bard to keep such things in his head. Genealogies, histories, heroic tales… were memorized by the bards. This was not an easy task, and required approximately twelve years of training. This was a goodly chunk of time taken out of a person’s life, when the average lifespan was less than forty years.
Well, enough of the history lessons. The next leg of our journey will be overland. Wave goodbye to the nice boatman and put on your toughest hiking boots. Unless you can talk one of the Roman cavalry out of his horse, it looks like you have a long walk ahead of you.
GO TO GERGOVIA
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The Green
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