Celtic animism as givers of life and as links between the physical realm and the other world. Sequana, for example, seems to have embodied the River Seine at its spring source, and Sulis appears to have been one and the same as the hot spring at Bath, Somerset, (Roman Aquae Sulis) not simply its guardian or possessor. In Ireland, the tutelary goddesses Boann and Sionnan give their names to the rivers Boyne and Shannon, and the tales of these goddesses are the origin stories of the rivers themselves. The threefold goddess Brighid is associated with a number of holy wells and The
Votive offering MAT[ER]-MATVTA, SALVS, FIDE, and IVNONII (Juno). A curse tablet or defixio is a small sheet of tin or lead on which a message wishing misfortune upon someone else was inscribed. Usually found rolled up and deliberately deposited, there are five main reasons for dedicating a curse tablet: 1 – Litigation, 2 – Competition, 3 – Trade, 4 – Erotic Ambition, 5 – Theft Of those in Britain the vast majority are of type 5. The two largest concentrations are from the sacred springs at Aquae Sulis, where 130 examples are recorded, and at Uley, where over 140 examples are visible.