Within the Iron Age landscape in the heart of Europe, places of worship were important parts of local communities. They were anchor points of identity, where people gathered for festivals and religious rituals and courted favor of the divine through gifts and votive offerings.
In the Hallstatt culture, such processions were most often led by priestesses, who appealed to the Mistress of the Animals (Potnia Theron) - a motif present among different cultures across the Near East, Mediterranean and Europe. She was often depicted with raised arms and surrounded or holding animals. Another present motif is that of waterbirds and sun disk - influences from the preceding Urnfield Culture of the Late Bronze Age.
The lead priestess, who was part of the elite class, would wield a metallic scepter with pendants that would provide a mystic, rattling sound.
Religious and spiritual customs could differ even within a small region, which is best indicated with different methods of burial: Cremation vs. inhumation, as well as tumuli (barrows) vs. flat cemeteries. Most, however, did contain grave goods - personal items and artifacts fit for their status, as well as food and drink for their journey in the afterlife.
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