Sacrificial Grove

The practice of ritualistic animal sacrifice was prevalent throughout the tribes of the ancient world. Performed as a way to offer tribute to the gods, the bodies of those animals deemed most appropriate were given up to the deity. Naturally, the animal in question differed depending on the god or goddess in question. Endovelicus, generally recognised as the head of the Iberian pantheon, was said to primarily receive pigs as sacrifice. On the other hand Neto, the god of war, was associated with the bull, so they may have been offered for sacrifice to him. Sacrificial groves traditionally took the form of a clearing with a large stone 'altar', upon which the sacrifice took place.