Senuna.

Senuna, or Sena, is a Goddess we find in Britain from several hoards, mostly the Ashwell Hoard. Image of the hoard below. We have inscriptions from across the Celtic world to Goddesses with the same name, who may be part of a continuum or attest to the widespread nature of Senuna’s cult. 

Etymology:

The root of Senuna comes from the Gallo-Brittonic word for old, Seno- (de Bernado Stempel, 2008). Senuna’s name has the prefix -una, which is the theonymic ending for Goddesses. Senuna could be interpreted as ‘The Old One’, ‘The Old Goddess’ or ‘The Old Woman’. In at least one inscription, Senuna is referred to as Sena (see Silver plaque, 2003, 0901.16 in the inscription section below). The use of Sena rather than Senuna has the potential to tie the inscriptions to Sena in Gaul, Noricum and Spain to those in Britannia, as well as to textual references we will visit below (de Bernard Stempel, 2008).

Textual references:

In the Ravenna Cosmography (108.31), a river is listed as Senua in Southern Britain. Therefore, Senuna may be the Goddess of this river mentioned. 

Another potential textual reference to Senuna is by Pomponius Mela in his Chorographia. The island he mentions below is known as Enez-Sun in Breton, or Île de Sein in French, near the Western coast of Brittany.

“In the Britannic Sea, opposite the coast of the Ossismi, the isle of Sena belongs to a Gallic divinity and is famous for its Oracle, whose priestesses, sanctified by their perpetual virginity, are reportedly nine in number. They call the priestesses Gallizenae and think that because they have been endowed with unique powers, they stir up the seas and the winds by their magic charms, that they turn into whatever animals they want, that they cure what is incurable among other peoples, that they know and predict the future, but that it is not revealed except to sea-voyagers and then only to those travelling to consult them.” Mela, 3. 48

Both of the above mentions are from geographers who most likely did not make the travel themselves and therefore are receiving second or third-hand information. However, Mela is contemporary and may be describing an actual religious institution. Even if this is true, it does not mean that the Sena he mentions is the same as the Senuna/Sena in Britain. To this point, the finds associated with Senuna are within south-eastern Britain, an area with a long history of contact and migration of Belgic and Gaulish neighbours, and the cult of Sena could have made its way to Britain, or from Britain made its way to Gaul.

On Mela’s reference, several other texts support islands having a sacred nature in Celtic religions. The first text, by Procopius, references an island where the dead travel, ferried by fishermen (Koch, 2006). The other reference, by Pliny, states that the Celtiberians had six islands called the ‘Islands of the Gods’ (Pliny 4. 36). For more on these islands, see here. Now despite these references, they can not guarantee that the isle of Sena had a temple and oracle to a Celtic God, much less that it was Sena/Senuna whom the island was dedicated to. Still, it strengthens the associations between sacred space and islands.

Interpretatio:

Often in Britain Gods are depicted with Roman images left unchanged or edited, and this is as much the case with Senuna. The images found of Her present Senuna as Minerva and Fortuna in different instances, and only by the inscription are we aware of who the votive offering is meant for (Croxford, 2016, pp. 612)

Like Sulis and Brigantia, Senuna is twinned with the Roman Goddess Minerva. Minerva is largely associated with war, crafts, learning, wisdom, healing and waters, sometimes under specific epithets and imagery like Minerva Victrix and Minerva Medica (Jackson and Burleigh, 2018, pp.140-141). Senuna may therefore be associated with springs and water, as the hoard the finds come from is near the springs which feed the River Rhee (Jackson and Burleigh, 2018, pp.140-141), and this would tie it back in with the Ravenna Cosmography.

In addition to the association with Minerva, Senuna is tied to Fortuna. Fortuna, the Roman Goddess of chance, was a common Goddess within Britain, such as Fortuna Home-Bringer (RIB 840). She was popular with the military, both in matters of war but also general safety and luck (Aldhouse-Green, 2018, pp. 66). However, Fortuna was associated with material abundance and wealth, not just home-bringing and safety in war.

One statue, found near the Ashwell hoard, is a statue with imagery associated with both Minerva and Fortuna (see below). The statue has a gorgons head on scaly chest armour, a helmet, and the right hand's position indicates a spear was held (Burleigh and Jackson, 2009). In addition to this, the statue also supports a cornucopia resting in the crook of its left arm, and there may have been an ear of corn held in the left hand, which has broken off. The martial elements are identical to those Minerva is depicted with, as are the abundance motifs identical with what Fortuna is depicted with (Burleight and Jackson, 2009). This iconography and the close location with the hoard of Senuna suggest that Senuna Herself has many shared ‘domains’ with both Minerva and Fortuna.

Interpretatio Britanna:

We can see that Sena or Senuna is a complex Goddess who presents us with some tantalising possibilities about Her cult and the prominence of Her cult. We can tell that Senuna has a connection with water (either as springs, rivers, or even the ocean). She may be associated with healing, wisdom, war, prosperity, fortune and protection. Considering Mela’s reference to the cult at the island of Sena, several descriptions can be covered by what we know. Firstly, curing the incurable, which presents a possible connection to Senuna’s association with Minerva Medica. Secondly, the control of winds and waters, it is not unreasonable to expect a Goddess of waters to be able to control those waters. Thirdly, the prediction of the future. Would it be reasonable for a Goddess associated with Fortune and Chance to be asked to predict or tell an individual's fortune or chance? Whilst Senuna’s domains appear to fulfil what is laid out by Mela; it is best to be critical about said reference. Besides this, Senuna is a Goddess who we can rely on and put our faith in for a great many things! As the Old Goddess, She is wise, understanding, gentle and nurturing, but with Her wisdom comes great strength and the ability to bolster and defend us in battle, whatever form that may take.

Inscriptions:

All inscriptions come from Jackson and Burleigh (2018), as these inscriptions are yet to be put on RIB.

“The the goddess Senuna, Flavia Cunoris has paid her vow willingly, deservedly.” (Silver pedestal, 2011, 8012.1)

“Claudius Celsus has made his vow to the goddess Senuna, willingly, deservedly.” (Gold plaque, 2003, 0901.8)

“Cariatia Ressa has paid her vow willingly.” (Gold plaque, 2003, 0901.9)

“To the goddess Senuna, Nerus (has given) this plaque.” (Gold plaque, 2003, 0901.11)

“To the goddess Senuna, Quintianus (has given) this plaque.” (Gold plaque, 2003, 0901.12)

“Bell(...) Memorianus has made his vow to the goddess Senuna.” (Gold plaque, 2003, 0901.14)

“To the goddess Sena, Lucilia Sena has paid her vow willingly, deservedly.” (Silver plaque, 2003, 0901.16)

“To the goddess Senuna, Lucius L(...) Herbonianus has paid his vow willingly, deservedly.” (Silver plaque, 2003, 0901.17)

“To the goddess Senuna, Servandus son of Hispanus has paid his vow willingly.” (Silver plaque, 2003, 0901.21)

“To the goddess Senuna, [..(...)] Firmanus has paid his vow willingly, deservedly.” (Silver plaque, 2003, 0901. 24)

Bibliography:

Aldhouse-Green, M.J. (2018). Sacred Britannia: the gods and rituals of Roman Britain. London; New York: Thames & Hudson.

Burleigh, G. and Jackson, R., 2009. An unusual Minerva-Fortuna figurine from Hinxworth, Hertfordshire. The Antiquaries Journal, 89, pp.63-67.

Croxford, B., 2016. Art in Roman Britain. In The Oxford Handbook of Roman Britain.

de Bernardo Stempel, P., 2008. The «old» Celtic goddess Sena: a new testimony from Aquitania. Veleia, (24-25).

Koch, J.T., 2006. Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.

Mela, Pomponius., Chorographia Bk II, from Pomponius Mela's Description of the World, translated by Frank E. Romer, University of Michigan Press, 1998. https://topostext.org/work/145. 

Pliny the Elder, Natural History 4. 36 (trans. Bostock) (Roman encyclopedia c. 1st century CE)

RIB 840, Dedication to Eternal Rome and Fortune the Home-bringer, Roman Inscriptions of Britain, https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/840. 

Jackson, R., Burleigh, G.R., Williams, C., Peckham, S., Allen, D., Cartwright, C., Fawcett, A., Ghey, E., Hartley, K., Henig, M., Hockey, M., Johns, C., Jones, S., King, A.C., Susan La Niece, Meek, A., Rigby, V., Fleur Shearman, Talks, S. and Thompson, I. (2018). Dea Senuna: treasure, cult and ritual at Ashwell, Hertfordshire. London The British Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/publications/research-publications-series.