In November 1897, Alphonse Roux, a farmer, discovered what appeared to be a cloth bag, whose fibers had dissolved over time, buried about 30 centimeters underground while working in a field at a place called Verpoix in the municipality of Coligny (in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France). Inside, there were 550 bronze fragments.

The pieces, acquired by the Museums of Lyon, were examined by curator Paul Dissard, who concluded that they belonged to two distinct objects: a Gallo-Roman statue over one and a half meters tall, dated between the late 1st century BCE and the early 1st century CE (about 400 pieces), and an incomplete calendar missing almost half of its parts (149 pieces, of which 126 have inscriptions).

Both objects were likely destroyed around the year 275 as a result of one of the frequent Alemanni incursions led by Chroco, the tribal chief who was said—perhaps exaggeratedly—to have destroyed all the Gallic temples.

Coligny Calendar Celtic
Detail of the statue. Credit: QuartierLatin1968 / Wikimedia Commons

Dissard reconstructed the calendar in 15 days, giving it the shape of a table measuring 1.48 by 0.90 meters, although the 149 recovered fragments cover only about two-thirds of the total surface.

It is organized into 16 columns of 8 blocks representing a total of 62 months. As in other calendars found in Rome, each day has a hole beside it where a pin was placed to indicate the date.

The letters and numbers are in Latin characters, but the calendar’s language is Gaulish. It contains about 2,000 words, with approximately 130 lines per column, making it the longest known document in the Gaulish language. Up to 70 words appearing in it were previously unknown before its discovery.

Coligny Calendar Celtic
Detail of the calendar. Credit: Gozitano / Wikimedia Commons

For this reason, it is a crucial epigraphic source for the study and understanding of Celtic antiquity, providing information on the Celtic conception of time, astronomical knowledge, and Druidic traditions.

In this sense, the Druidic character of the calendar is evident, according to some experts, while others believe it was a public-use calendar, similar to Greek and Roman ones.

What is important is that, thanks to the Coligny Calendar and another found in Villards d’Heriad (of which only 8 small fragments remain), the Celtic calendar could be reconstructed.

Coligny Calendar Celtic
Detail of the calendar. Credit: Ruthven / Wikimedia Commons

It is a lunisolar calendar, meaning it takes into account both the phases of the moon and the sun. The months were lunar, and the year consisted of 354 or 355 days. It began with the month of Samonios (possibly the summer solstice or autumn equinox).

The months were divided into two halves, with the fortnight being the basic unit of the Celtic calendar. In fact, Julius Caesar mentions that the days, months, and years of the Gauls always began with a dark half followed by a light half.

The Gauls assert that they are descendants of the god Dis and that this has been passed down to them by the Druids. For this reason, they calculate the divisions of each season, not by the number of days, but by the number of nights; the anniversaries of births, the beginnings of months, and the years are counted as if the day follows the night.

Julius Caesar, Commentaries on the Gallic War VI.18
Coligny Calendar Celtic
Current state of the calendar. Credit: Espirat / Wikimedia Commons

Months with 30 days were called Matos (fortunate), and those with 29 days were Anmatos (unfortunate). The remaining months of the year, after Samonios, were: Dumannios, Riuros, Anagantios, Ogronios, Cutios, Giamonios, Simi Visonnios, Equos, Elembivios, Aedrinios, and Cantlos.

The Latin writing and the statue found alongside the calendar pieces indicate that it belongs to a Gallo-Roman context from the late 1st century CE. Its complexity suggests advanced astronomical knowledge.

Both the calendar and the statue are on display at the Gallo-Roman Museum of Fourvière. A reconstruction of the calendar can be seen at the Coligny town hall.


This article was first published on our Spanish Edition on October 1, 2019: El Calendario de Coligny, los fragmentos de bronce que permitieron reconstruir el calendario céltico


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