Pillar of Nautes: the god Cernunnos

The Pillar of Nautes: 
the god Cernunnos
Paris, between 14 and 37 (1st century)
Stone
Total restored H. more than 2.5 m
Paris, Ile de la Cité
Reinv. in 1912; Cl. 18602 - 18605

For historians of first-century Gaul, the Pillar of Nautes is one of the most important monuments in our nation's history. Discovered under the choir of Notre-Dame cathedral in 1711, the blocks from the Pillar of Nautes are decorated with bas-relief on all four sides. Four cubic elements have been sculpted separately. They form the vestiges of a monument dedicated to Jupiter by Parisian Nautes under the reign of Tiberius. Representations of Gallic divinities (Esus, Cernunnos, Smertios, etc.) and Roman divinities (Jupiter, Vulcain, Castor, Pollux, etc.) are lined up in an order which is difficult to re-establish, The gift of this monument to the emperor demonstrates the submission of the Guals to Roman power. If Roman culture was quickly assimilated, the mixture of Gallic and Roman gods in iconography proves that it was far from effective in erasing the ancient Celtic culture of the Gauls.