The Search for Peace in Times of Chaos—Volume The archaeological evidence does not contain the bias inherent in the literary sources Various archaeological discoveries have aided our understanding of the Pagan religion of the Celts One is the minted coins and another is the sculptures, monuments, and inscriptions associated with the Celts of continental Europe and of Roman Britain But even where figures and motifs appear to derive from pre-Roman tradition, they are difficult to interpret in the absence of a preserved literature on mythology A notable example of this is the horned deity that was called Cernunnos; we have found several depictions and inscriptions of him, but know very little about the myths that would have been associated with him or how he was worshiped Classical sources claimed that the Celts had no temples and that their ceremonies took place in forest sanctuaries However, archaeologists have discovered a large number of temple sites excavated throughout the Celtic world, primarily in Gaul An illustration of a wicker man, (a form of human sacrifice that Caesar “alleged” the Druids, or Celtic Pagan priesthood performed) was found though has been uncovered to support this There are only very few recorded archaeological discoveries which preserve evidence of human sacrifice and thus most contemporary historians tend to regard human sacrifice as rare within Celtic cultures The Roman Catholic Church, headquartered in Rome, Italy, came into being in 312 ad, under Roman emperor Constantine Although Christianity was not made the official religion of the Roman Empire until the edicts of Theodosius I in 380 and 381 ad, Constantine, from 312 ad until his death in 337, was engaged in the process of simultaneously building Pagan temples and Christian churches and was slowly turning over the reigns of his Pagan priesthood to the bishop of Rome However, the family of Constantine did not give up the last vestige of his priesthood until after the disintegration of the Roman Empire: that of the title the emperors bore as heads of the Pagan priesthood— —a title that the popes would inherit.3 Prior to the time of Constantine’s conversion, Christians were persecuted not so much for their profession of faith in Christ Some say it was because they would not include Pagan deities in their faith as well