a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Jouttijärvi, Arne (2009), "The Gundestrup Cauldron: Metallurgy and Manufacturing Techniques”, Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 24: 960–966. ISSN 1042-6914

On plate B, the large bust of a torc-wearing female is flanked by two six- spoked wheels, what seem to be two elephants, and two griffins. A feline or hound is underneath the bust. In northwest Gaulish coinage from 150 to 50 BC, such wheels often indicate a chariot, so the scene could be seen as a goddess in an elephant biga (Olmsted 1979; 2001: 125–126). Both Olmsted and Taylor agree that the female of plate f might be Rhiannon of the Mabinogion. Rhiannon is famous for her birds, whose songs could "awaken the dead and lull the living to sleep". In this role, Rhiannon could be considered the Goddess of the Otherworld. [5] [13] Silver was not a common material in Celtic art, and certainly not on this scale. Except sometimes for small pieces of jewellery, gold or bronze were more usual for prestige metalwork. [14] At the time that the Gundestrup cauldron was created, silver was obtained through cupellation of lead/silver ores. [2] By comparing the concentration of lead isotopes with the silverwork of other cultures, it has been suggested that the silver came from multiple ore deposits, mostly from Celtic northern France and western Germany in the pre- Roman period. The lead isotope studies also indicate that the silver for manufacturing the plates was prepared by repeatedly melting ingots and/or scrap silver. Three to six distinct batches of recycled silver may have been used in making the vessel. [1] [2] Specifically, the circular "base plate" may have originated as a phalera, and it is commonly thought to have been positioned in the bottom of the bowl as a late addition, soldered in to repair a hole. [5] By an alternative theory, this phalera was not initially part of the bowl, but instead formed part of the decorations of a wooden cover. [5] The cauldron is not complete, and now consists of a rounded cup-shaped bottom making up the lower part of the cauldron, usually called the base plate, above which are five interior plates and seven exterior ones; a missing eighth exterior plate would be needed to encircle the cauldron, and only two sections of a rounded rim at the top of the cauldron survive. The base plate is mostly smooth and undecorated inside and out, apart from a decorated round medallion in the centre of the interior. All the other plates are heavily decorated with repoussé work, hammered from beneath to push out the silver. Other techniques were used to add detail, and there is extensive gilding and some use of inlaid pieces of glass for the eyes of figures. Other pieces of fittings were found. Altogether the weight is just under 9 kilograms. [7] What comes round again and again in the multitude of designs are hunting scenes, gods, and female warriors that could represent goddesses. This type of iconography is not unique to the Celts. Similar Art in Other CulturesThe Pashupati Seal ( Lord of Animals) from the Indus Valley civilization [21] is remarkably similar to the antlered figure of plate A. [5] [22] a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Nielsen, S; Andersen, J; Baker, J; Christensen, C; Glastrup, J; et al. (2005). "The Gundestrup cauldron: New scientific and technical investigations”, Acta Archaeologica, 76: 1–58. ISSN 0065-101X

A silver Thracian plate from another grave found in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria also shows incredible similarities to the Gundestrup cauldron. The metal-work, the griffins, the stripes on the clothing of a man believed to be Hercules, and the postures of the fantastic animals reflect those of the caldron. According to Olmsted (2001) the art style of the Gundestrup cauldron is that utilized in Armorican coinage dating to 75-55 BC, as exemplified in the billon coins of the Coriosolites. This art style is unique to northwest Gaul and is largely confined to the region between the Seine and the Loire, a region in which, according to Caesar, the wealthy sea-faring Veneti played a dominant and hegemonic role. Agreeing with this area of production, determined by the art style, is the fact that the "lead isotope compositions of the [Gundestrup] cauldron plates" mostly included "the same silver as used in northern France for the Coriosolite coins" (Larsen 2005: 35). Not only does the Gundestrup cauldron enlighten us about this coin-driven art style, where the larger-metalwork smiths were also the mint-masters producing the coins, but the cauldron also portrays cultural items, such as swords, armor, and shields, found and produced in this same cultural area, confirming the agreement between art style and metal analysis. If as Olmsted (2001) and Hachmann (1990) suggest, the Veneti also produced the silver phalerae, found on the Isle of Sark, as well as the Helden phalera, then there are a number of silver items of the type exemplified by the Gundestrup cauldron originating in northwest France, dating to just before the Roman conquest.

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Cauldrons have largely fallen out of use in the developed world as cooking vessels. While still used for practical purposes, a more common association in Western culture is the cauldron's use in witchcraft—a cliché popularized by various works of fiction, such as William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. In fiction, witches often prepare their potions in a cauldron. Also, in Irish folklore, a cauldron is purported to be where leprechauns keep their gold and treasure. The large bust of a bearded figure holding on to a broken wheel is at the centre of plate C. A smaller, leaping figure with a horned helmet is also holding the rim of the wheel. Under the leaping figure is a horned serpent. The group is surrounded by three griffins facing left below, and above, two strange animals who look like hyenas, [19] facing right. The wheel's spokes are rendered asymmetrically, but judging from the lower half, the wheel may have had twelve spokes. In addition, there is a piece of iron from a ring originally placed inside the silver tubes along the rim of the cauldron. [1] [2] It is assumed that there is a missing eighth plate because the circumference of the seven outer plates is smaller than the circumference of the five inner plates. [1] [2] [4] [5] Other details with more tentative Celtic links are the long swords carried by some figures, and the horned and antlered helmets or head-dresses and the boar crest worn on their helmet by some warriors. These can be related to Celtic artefacts such as a helmet with a raptor crest from Romania, the Waterloo Helmet, Torrs Pony-cap and Horns and various animal figures including boars, of uncertain function. The shield bosses, spurs and horse harness also relate to Celtic examples. [26] Gallo-Roman figure of Taranis/ Jupiter with his wheel and thunderbolt, and carrying torcs

Finally, the glass inlays of the Gundestrup cauldron have been determined through the use of X-ray fluorescence radiation to be of a soda-lime type composition. The glass contained elements that can be attributed to calcareous sand and mineral soda, typical of the east coast of the Mediterranean region. The analyses also narrowed down the production time of the glass to between the second century BC and first century AD. [1] [2] Flow of raw material [ edit ] Exterior plate d NMD" = "The Gundestrup Cauldron", National Museum of Denmark, web section, accessed on 1 February 2016 Sandars, Nancy K., Prehistoric Art in Europe, Penguin (Pelican, now Yale, History of Art), 1968 (nb 1st edn.)a b c d e f g h i j k l Bergquist, A K & Taylor, T F (1987), "The origin of the Gundestrup cauldron", Antiquity 61: 10–24. Other details of the iconography clearly derive from the art of the ancient Near East, and there are intriguing parallels with ancient India and later Hindu deities and their stories. Scholars are mostly content to regard the former as motifs borrowed purely for their visual appeal, without carrying over anything much of their original meaning, but despite the distance some have attempted to relate the latter to wider traditions remaining from Proto-Indo-European religion. The Gundestrup cauldron is located at the National Museum of Denmark. Source: Wikimedia Commons, Nationalmuseet. Sophus Müller, a Danish archaeologist, reassembled the cauldron after the discovery. Five of the panels are larger rectangles and seven are smaller and more squarish. There were originally eight smaller panels, but one was missing since the discovery. The large semi-spherical bowl is the base of the cauldron. The seven cauldron panels form the outside of the vessel while the five larger panels face inward. Separate silver rims connect the pieces together. Müller sent the metal for analysis, and the results indicated 97% silver and 3% gold. The Gundestrup cauldron fully assembled is 27 inches in diameter and 16-1/2 inches tall. It weighs nearly 20 pounds. Their trumpets again are of a peculiar barbarian kind; they blow into them and produce a harsh sound which suits the tumult of war"