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Archaeology[edit]

As the historian Jane Webster stated, "individual druids... are unlikely to be identified archaeologically",^[68] a view which was echoed by Ronald Hutton, who declared that "not one single artefact or image has been unearthed that can undoubtedly be connected with the ancient Druids."^[3] A.P. Fitzpatrick, in examining what he believed to be astral symbolism on Late Iron Age swords has expressed difficulties in relating any material culture, even the Coligny calendar, with druidic culture.^[69] Nonetheless, some archaeologists have attempted to link certain discoveries with written accounts of the druids, for instance the archaeologist Anne Ross linked what she believed to be evidence of human sacrifice in Celtic pagan society—such as the Lindow Man bog body—to the Greco-Roman accounts of human sacrifice being officiated over by the druids.^[70][71]

An excavated burial in Deal, Kent discovered the "Deal warrior" a man buried around 200–150 BCE with a sword and shield, and wearing a unique crown, too thin to be a helmet. The crown is bronze with a broad band around the head and a thin strip crossing the top of the head. It was worn without any padding beneath, as traces of hair were left on the metal. The form of the crown is similar to that seen in images of Romano-British priests several centuries later, leading to speculation among archaeologists that the man might have been a druid.^[72]