ABSTRACT
To deal adequately with the archaeological finds that have some bearing on the pre-Christian religion would require a book in itself, and perhaps several volumes. Here only a small number of examples has been selected, of widely differing types, to give some idea of the way in which archaeological discoveries may contribute to our knowledge of the religious past, especially when they can be linked with evidence from literary sources. They show also how difficult it is to draw reliable conclusions about beliefs from material remains or early works of religious art alone, with no additional help from written records. The material has been taken from the early Celtic period and from Anglo-Saxon
England at the close of the pre-Christian period, as well as from Scandinavia; the scattered examples illustrate the types of problem that may be presented by archaeological evidence.
