The Saddle - A Sacred Landscape?
John Billingsley
One of the messages of earth mysteries is that no place can be looked at in isolation without reference to some part of the surrounding landscape. Archaeology can make a skilled task of recording what remains are to be found at a specific location, and in recent decades has paid overdue attention to prehistoric landscapes forming complexes of inter-related sites. It can be argued, however, that it is earth mysteries that has given major impetus to the holistic approach to understanding the ancient perception of the land. Current research in our field, previously focussing on the inter-relationship of sites which have been developed as places of ritual, is now tending to include also landforms surrounding such place. It is recognised that the very shape of the land may have symbolic meaning of spiritual relevance to a certain culture. Such landforms may not be discernible archaeologically as such, as they need to be looked upon from a vantage point; it is thus such vantage points - the archaeological sites themselves - which may hold the clue to form and symbolism in the landscape.
The Chinese geomantic practice of feng shui views the land in precisely this way different landforms signify different 'energies' present in the surroundings of a place, which can affect the activities and well-being of the dweller at that place1. These influences are seen symbolically and zoomorphically, for example as dragons or tigers. From indicators such as this, researchers like John Glover and Paul Devereux have gone on to show how non archaeological factors such as the shadow of a standing stone, the refraction of light or the dip of a distant hill are to be seen as integral constituents of a site that we might otherwise describe as perhaps merely a few square yards in area2. It is undoubtedly from such perceptions of the environment that the artform of the Japanese garden derived its 'borrowed landscape'.
Various cultures have interpreted a certain landform as having some special religious significance for them. The 'horned peak' was a feature par excellence for the Goddess temples of the eastern Mediterranean3, while in Japan a conical mountain was a sure magnet for, or seat of, sanctity4. I suggest there are some indications that the 'saddle' landform, when sandwiched between two distinct highpoints, may have held such a symbolic significance in Britain. This article looks at possible examples of this landform, particularly in relation to Romano-British sites along Hadrian's Wall, and tentatively advances a possible avenue for further investigation.
Deities of the Romano-British period
A significant effect of the Romanisation of Celtic Europe was to introduce Celtic artisans to stone as a medium for anistic and religious expression. The Celts had previously excelled in metalwork, and were also apparently used to working with wood, but the potential of stone had literally barely been scratched outside the Mediterranean region.
The effect of this anistic development was marked in Britain, where the Romano Celtic period saw a vigorous growth of stone carving in native religious practices. For this period, we have recorded in stone numerous deities, both as inscriptions on altars and figurative depictions: in addition, we have the significant appearance of a British tradition of carving stone heads, indicating that this part of the human body was of especial ritual meaning to the Celtic peoples at that time5 .
Most of the evidence in stone for deities worshipped in Britain comes from the far north of England. Hadrian's Wall seemingly acted as a catalyst for religious expression and the interchange of nationalities among the legionaries and native in habitants resulted in a fertile cultural mix. The hunter/protector god, Cocidius, and The Tres Matres, or Three Mothers, although found across Europe in the second and third centuries CE, made a strong representational appearance here in the Romano-British period. The Mother trinity was one of the more common Celtic deity types encountered in Roman Britain6 and along with another deity trio, the Genii Cu cullati or Hooded Gods, is an illustration of the magical significance to the Celts of the number three. A relief of the goddess Coventina (see below), also found along the Wall, depicts her as a trio of nymphs.
Altars to or depictions of the Mother Goddesses have been recovered from Housesteads (Vercovicium; NY 790 688), Carrawburgh (Brocolitia; NY 859 711), Castlesteads and Carlisle (Luguvalium) on the Roman Wall, and also further north at Netherby, while an inscription to "the Witches Three" was found near the temple at Benwell (Condercum, NZ 217 647). Inscriptions where the Matres are described as "across the seas" were excavated at Risingham and Binchester (Co. Durham). Of these, Housesteads and Carlisle have been particularly favoured with Mothers relics, with five and three carvings respectively recorded. The Carrawburgh Mother7 was actually found in an anteroom of the Mithraic temple8, which was near the holy well apparently dedicated to the native goddess Coventina (NY 858 711). These were not the only goddesses worshipped in the Wall Zone; in addition to the Roman figures of Fortuna, Victory and so on, a long praise poem to "the Syrian Goddess", referred to as Ceres7, is known. Brigantia, tutelary deity of the Northern England Celts, is also recorded on several occasions, and of course Coventina's Well received a large number and variety of votive offerings5 .
The close contact between Celts and legionaries - who may in many cases have been Celts themselves, from Northern European territories - all along the wall is attested by the large number of stone heads, presumed to be Romano-Celtic, found in the Roman Wall area9. These items show how the Roman propensity for carving in stone was transmitted to artisans unfamiliar with the material but eager to express motifs common in Celtic religious belief; although probably not all the heads recovered should be dated to the Romano British period, there is nonetheless sufficient evidence to indicate, if not a head cult as such, at least an especial Romano British regard for the human head. The alliance of Celtic religion with the legionaries can be seen at temples such as Benwell, where a stone head of the native deity Antenociticus was found, as well as in the numerous Latin inscriptions to Cocidius, the goddesses mentioned above and other deities.
However, as can be seen from the reference to the Syrian goddess, Celts and Celtic religion were not the only influences accompanying the Roman pantheon locally Indeed, a contingent of Syrian archers was evidently among the. early inhabitants of Housesteads fort, although by the third century the garrison consisted of a legion originally drawn from Belgium (and presumably better able to endure the climate). Perhaps the strongest impact on the legionaries, however, was another oriental import - Mithras, a Near-Eastern deity who found great favour in the warriors of the Roman Empire. Mithraic temples have been located at various points along the wall - notably Carrawburgh and Housesteads - and probably every Roman military station of any size had its Mithraeum at some time.
Among this grand collection, it is the native Celtic deities, as might be expected, and among them the Three Mothers, who represent the putative relationship between temple and landscape saddle. As we have seen, an important Mothers sites seems to have been Housesteads fort and settlement.
Housesteads
Housesteads - or, to give it its Roman name, Vercovicium - is one of the most spectacular locations along Hadrian's Wall. The fort is approximately at the midpoint of the wall's length, amid the rugged and evocative landscapes of upland Northumbria. Jagged crags, sheer cliffs and tranquil tarns delight the modern visitor, although to the legionary patrolling the wall, especially in winter, they could only add to the bleakness of his station. Yet it is a spot that had been favoured by previous settlers. The Roman fort perches on one side of a shallow trough a few hundred yards across, partly occupied by a small stream known as the Knag Bum. To build their fort, the Roman cleared off an Iron Age village, and levelled a Bronze Age tumulus. Two other tumuli remain on the other side of the road from the modern car park, just outside the trough. The Celtic inhabitants in time re-established a village outside the fort walls, and continued trading with their neighbours on the Scottish side of the wall via the Knag Burn gateway adjacent to the settlement.
Below the fort, the smooth curve of the landscape is broken by a hill, now known as Chapel Hill (NY 791 686), rising from the centre of the trough. It is itself most picturesque. The hills of Northumbria have been likened to an ocean; if this is so, then Chapel Hill is the spine of a dolphin breaking the swell. It is aligned parallel to the trough, at 60/240 degrees from N. Two altars were recovered from this hill one Mithraic (although the Mithraeum was nearer the fort) and the other a relief of the Tres Matres10 . Another relief found suggests an alternative or even additional site for the worship of the Mothers, a little to the east by Knag Burn. A sketch by Stukeley recorded a total of five altars to the Mothers, including a location south east of the fort, which would put them in the vicinity of the Knag Burn site.
It is a memorable landscape. From the top of Chapel Hill it is a striking view east and west along the trough of the landscape swell. In both directions the swell pauses at either side, forming crags like breaking waves; and as I sat there on a cold and storm-tossed afternoon in January it occurred to me that perhaps it was this view that had decided the location of the temple or temples of the Three Mothers.
I have noted how Paul Devereux has pointed out the significance of certain sceneries in prehistoric religion, particularly 'horned' landscapes. The classic example is Mediterranean temples like Knossos, where a cleft mountain recalls the 'horns' frequently attributed to goddess worship in the area. I realised that here at Housesteads I was looking at a saddle formation that had pronounced peaks on either side; the saddle had horns11 (Fig. 2).
Further investigation in better weather revealed another interesting point. The axis of Chapel Hill is aligned directly on on one of these horned saddles to the west, while it points vaguely at another in the easterly direction. From the other supposed location of a Tres Matres shrine, by the Knag Burn, this easterly pair of horns is more clearly visible. Both saddles, however, soon disappear as one climbs the slope towards the fort, from which no such 'horned landscape' is visible. In other words, the shrines appear to have been situated in that part of the local landscape where the saddles were visible; in the case of Chapel Hill, from the only point where both were visible. The especial picturesque appearance of Chapel Hill must have been an added bonus12.
Saddles and their Symbolism
One would assume that in such a landscape the saddle feature is frequent, detracting from its spiritual significance. However, my trip along Hadrian's Wall indicated that this is not the case; saddles, especially ones bounded by clear peaks are not so common. There is, moreover, some suggestion that they may indeed be connected with temples of the Romano British period. 
At Benwell, a faint saddle can be made out in the far horizon to the south-west. At Carrawburgh, both the Mithraeum with its Mother statue and Coventina's Well were located in a small valley beside the fort; looking down the valley, the sole direction where a far horizon is visible, the only landscape feature to be seen is a shallow saddle with a small peak on either side. Neither of these have the spectacular effect of the Housesteads saddles, and it is indeed in relation to Matres sites that such clear saddles are encountered;as at Carlisle, where after Housesteads the largest number of Mothers remains have been found, and where a very marked peaked saddle can be seen among the mountains of the Lake District to the south (Fig. 3).
The evidence for the saddle as a sacred landscape is not at all conclusive as yet, but I feel there is enough to warrant further investigation into the possibility that saddles possessed some spiritually symbolic significance at the time of the Roman Occupation of Britain, especially in relation to native deities and among them especially the Tres Matres. If such a suggestion exists, then further research in other parts of Britain is required. Some examples are Ancaster (Lincs.), Ribchester (Lancs.) and Cirencester (Gloucs.), where Tres Matres reliefs have been found13. In the Hadrian's Wall area, locations I have as yet been unable to check are Netherby, Castlesteads (Cambo-glanna; NY 512 635), Rudchester and Wallsend (Segedunum; NZ 299 658). The inscriptions to the "Mother goddesses over the sea" at Risingham and Binchester could also give a clue to sacred landscapes in the home territories of those who set up the altars.
It should also be borne in mind that, given that the tumuli at Housesteads imply a religious element in that landscape in the Bronze Age, it is quite possible that if a sacred value attaches to this kind of landscape in Britain, then, like so many of their religious beliefs, it predates the Celts. The surrounding landscapes of pre-Celtic sacred sites should therefore also be evaluated for the existence of saddle formations. Some of the illustrations accompanying this article indicate this possibility14.
Of course, it is one thing to suggest that something may be symbolic and quite an other to identify what is symbolised. It is important to realise. however. that symbolism is usually complex and rarely functions at one level only. It is likely to have both simple and esoteric meanings; to interpret either is a matter of speculation, but it is especially so for the latter. That said, what may be the symbolism of the saddle? Could it be related to the horned landscapes of the Mediterranean? Could it, at a simpler literal level, appeal to equestrian cultures or those peoples with a totemic association with the horse? In that case, in a Celtic context, could we also suspect the presence of Epona/Rhiannon, the horse goddess15, who appears in association with the Mothers in Gaul16?
Symbolism and sanctity has evidently been attached to certain landscape forms in all cultures. Sometimes a place can be come sacred by being simply out of the ordinary, or by having its own atmosphere, palpably different from its surroundings. Certain formations, though, can be seen by the siting of shrines and temples to have had religious meaning in their form rather than in any inherent personality of the place. This is the symbolic landscape, as distinct from the naturally numinous landscape; and one of our tasks in earth mysteries-related research is surely to draw up for our own prehistoric cultures a kind of 'geographiary' of sacred landscape forms. This article has been a contribution to this task.
1. It is important to point out that the energies associated with feng-shui and other geomantic practices are not to be seen as measurable forces or confused with the so-called 'earth energy ' that has yet to be identified or demonstrated. Feng-shui stresses the power of the surroundings both indoors and out on the human mind, i.e. one's environment can engender certain reactions, or energies, within oneself. When seeking energies in the landscape, then, it is as well to look inside oneself as to look outside.
2. John Glover. 'Paths of Shadow and Light' The Ley Hunter 87, 1979; Paul Devereux, Earth Memory, Quantum 1991, & Symbolic Landscapes, Gothic Image 1992.
3. Paul Devereux, Symbolic Landscapes & Secrets of Ancient and Mysterious Places. Blandford 1992.
4. Carmen Blacker, The Catalpa Bow, George Allen & Unwin 1975,
5. Anne Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, Routledge & Kegan Paul 1967.
6. These should not be confused with the so-called Triple Goddess, whose existence has not been confirmed and seems likely to be largely an invention of Robert Graves.
7. In the Newcastle Museum of Antiquities.
8. It should be noted, in case it is suspected that the worship of the Goddesses was the preserve of the women or legionaries' partners in the settlements, that Mithras was a warrior god and only men were initiated into Mithraic mysteries and allowed beyond the anteroom. This therefore suggests either that women and men worshipped in the Mithraic anteroom or that Mithras was not - locally at least - a jealous god, and nor were his male devotees.
9. Examples can be seen in the museums at Chesters Fort, Corbridge (Corstopitum), Newcastle Museum of Antiquities and Tullie House, Carlisle.
10. A tentative link between the all-male Mithraism and the Mothers was suggested by the statue found at Carrawburgh Mithraeum.
11. I originally suspected as a result that there may have been a Greek legionary presence at Housesteads which perhaps recognised in the landscape an echo of their home temples, but insufficient documentary evidence for the garrison prior to the third century CE makes this impossible to prove or disprove. I am indebted, however, to Mike Haigh for turning up an inscription made by a Greek slave at Housesteads, which may suggest a legionary connection with that part of the Mediterranean.
12. A personal added bonus for me was to be surprised by a hare -or vice versa - as I was exploring these sites. I have had such experiences previously in 'goddess quests': the hare is of course reputed to be a messenger of the goddess, although I do not advance this incident as evidence for my hypothesis!
13. See Anne Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain. Chapter 5.
14 . Flower Scar Hill has been implicated in a possible midsummer sunset sight-line, and is under threat from open cast coal mining. See Northern Earth 55, p.26. May one also speculate about the form of the entrances to high henge monuments such as Arbor Low?
15. My thanks to Tony Wright for suggesting this interpretation.
16. Anne Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, Cardinal 1974 ed., p.267.
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