Coligny calendar

The Coligny calendar is a bronze plaque with an

inscribed calendar, made in Roman Gaul in the 2nd
century CE. It lays out a five-year cycle of a
lunisolar calendar, each year with twelve lunar
months. An intercalary month is inserted before
each 2.5 years. The lunar phase is tracked with
exceptional precision, adjusted when necessary by
a variable month, and the calendar uses the 19-year
Metonic cycle to keep track of the solar year. It is
the most important evidence for the reconstruction
of an ancient Celtic calendar.
Overview of the re-assembled tablet found in Coligny,
It was found in 1897 in France, in Coligny, Ain France
(46°23′N 5°21′E, near Lyon), along with broken
pieces of a bronze statue of a life-size naked male
holding a spear, likely Roman Mars or Romano-Celtic Lugus.[1] It was engraved
on a bronze tablet, preserved in 73 fragments, that was originally 1.48 metres
(4 ft 10 in) wide by 0.9 metres (2 ft 11 in) tall.[2] It is written in Latin
inscriptional capitals and numerals, but terms are in the Gaulish language. Based
on the style of lettering and the accompanying statue, the bronze plaque
probably dates to the end of the second century, although the copying errors
indicate the calendar itself is much older.[3][4] It is now held at the Gallo-Roman
Museum of Lyon-Fourvière.

Eight small fragments of a similar calendar were found at the double-shrine of

Villards-d'Héria. It does not have the holes of a peg calendar[5] that the Coligny
calendar does, but otherwise has the same notations. It is now held in the Musée
d'Archéologie du Jura at Lons-le-Saunier.
The god found with the
Coligny calendar
List of months reconstituted by A.
André.
The names of the twelve lunar year months are reconstructed as Samonios,
Dumannios, Rivros, Anagantios, Ogronios, Cutios, Giamonios, Simivisonnios,
Equos, Elembivios, Edrinios, and Cantlos. The names occur in the form SAMONI (gen.), DUMANNI,
RIVRI etc. in the internal notations of the calendar. The name of the first intercalary month is unknown
being on a lost fragment, the second is reconstructed as[ S]antaran[...], [R]antaran[...], [B]antaran[...], or
Antaran[...].

Mid Samonios refers to summer (Gaulish samo-,< *sṃHo-3)[6]: 267 while Mid Giamonios refers to winter
(Gaulish giamo-). These two months divide the calendar into summer and winter seasons of six months,
each season led off by a festival of several days marked with IVOS. This indicates an early version of the
same traditional seasons as seen in later Celtic contexts: “For two divisions were formerly on the year, viz.,
summer from Beltaine (the first of May), and winter from Samuin to Beltaine”.[7]

It is not possible to align the Coligny lunar months accurately with modern solar months, but allowing for
variation across the years it is likely that the month of MID SAMONIOS began around May–June.
Value Name Days Etymology Interpretation

Intercalary
I-1 Unknown 30 Unknown meaning
One

Samo- is Gaulish
1 Samonios 30 May–Jun
for summer.[6]: 267
Compare to Latin
fūmus. Delamarre
2 Dumannios 29 suggests "month Jun–Jul
of
fumigations."[6]: 154
Compare to Old
Irish remor (stout,
thick, fat) and
Welsh rhef (thick,
3 Rivros 30 Jul–Aug Detail of Samonios (year 1).
stout, great, large).
Delamarre
suggests "fat
month."

Delamarre[6]
4 Anagantio 29 suggests "month Aug–Sep
of ritual ablutions."

Delamarre[6]
5 Ogronios 30 suggests a month Sep–Oct
of cold or winter

Delamarre[6]
6 Cutios 30 suggests a month Oct–Nov
of invocations

Intercalary
I-2 [.]antaran[...] 30 Unknown meaning
Two
This name is
derived from
giamos, the
Gaulish word for
winter.[a] mi gam is
7 Giamonios 29 Nov–Dec
Old Irish for
November,
according to
Cormac's
Glossary.[8]

Simi could mean

half, so "half the
8 Simivisonnios 30 course of the Dec–Jan
sun."[6]: 274
Possibly a month
29 or of horses or
9 Equos Jan–Feb
30
livestock.[6]: 165
Month of the
10 Elembivios 29 Feb–Mar
stag.[6]: 161–162
Compare with Old
11 Edrinios 30 Irish áed (fire, Mar–Apr
"heat).[6]: 34
12 Cantlos 29 Delamarre Apr–May
suggests "month
 of chanting."

The lunar month

The Coligny calendar as reconstructed consisted of 16 columns and 4 rows, with two intercalary months
given half a column each, resulting in a table of the 62 months of the five-year cycle. The 5 years of the
calendar plaque is part of a Metonic cycle of 19 years, although it could also be extended to a 30-year
cycle. The full length of the calendar is still being debated.

IC1 Riu Gia Aed Riu Gia Aed Riu IC2 Equ Sam Ogr Equ Sam Ogr Equ
1. 4. 8. 12. 16. 20. 24. 28. 32. 35. 39. 43. 47. 51. 55. 59.
Ana Sim Can Ana Sim Can Ana Ele Dum Qut Ele Dum Qut Ele
5. 9. 13. 17. 21. 25. 29. 36. 40. 44. 48. 52. 56. 60.
Sam Ogr Equ Sam Ogr Equ Sam Ogr Gia Aed Riu Gia Aed Riu Gia Aed
2. 6. 10. 14. 18. 22. 26. 30. 33. 37. 41. 45. 49. 53. 57. 61.
Dum Qut Ele Dum Qut Ele Dum Qut Sim Can Ana Sim Can Ana Sim Can
3. 7. 11. 15. 19. 23. 27. 31. 34. 38. 42. 46. 50. 54. 58. 62.

Each lunar year has a 12 lunar months, six months of 30 days and five of 29 days, although not in
29/30 pairs, and one variable month of 29 or 30 days. A synodic month has 29.53 days, so the calendar
overcomes any slight slippage or temporary imbalance by the month of MID EQVOS having either 29 or
30 days as required to keep the calendar in sync with the lunar phase.[b]

The Coligny calendar is designed to keep perfectly in sync with the lunar phase,[c] with a tolerance of less
than 24 hours.[12] Its internal notations are organised according to the phase of the moon.

At the end of the 19-year Metonic cycle, the calendar has overrun the 62-month lunar point by 0.312 days.
This would be fixed by reducing an EQUOS month from 30 days back to 29 once every 61 years.

If the plaque was part of a 30-year calendar, it overruns the lunar phase by 0.151 days. This requires a day
to be removed (by turning a 30-day EQUOS into a 29-day) roughly once every 198 years. However, the
internal months show a larger variation in accuracy for the lunar phase, nearly 48 hours (1.44 to −0.65 ),
making the ability to track the lunar phase of 30-years notably less accurate.

The solar year

The calendar is based on the Metonic cycle, a period of 19 years after which the sun and moon complete
their phase within about two hours, 0.087 days, of each other. This is created by 4 Coligny plaques, with
the first year dropped.

All the days and their notations are luni-solar and move around within a space of 36 days.
 cycle 1 cycle 2 cycle 3 cycle 4

y1 y2 y3 y4 y5 y1 y2 y3 y4 y5 y1 y2 y3 y4 y5 y1 y2 y3 y4 y5

int1 0 29 29 29

SAM 0 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30

DUM 0 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29
RIU 0 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30

ANA 0 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29

OGR 0 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30

CUT 0 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
int2 30 30 30 30

GIA 0 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29

SIM 0 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30

EQU 0 29 29 29 30 30 29 29 29 30 30 29 29 29 30 30 29 29 29 30

ELE 0 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29
AED 0 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
CAN 0 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29 29

The calendar itself must count in whole days, so 6940 days overruns the sun by 0.398396 and the moon by
0.311620 days.

The functioning of the calendar relies on the lunar months staying in sync with the lunar phase, so the
calendar is already adjusting for any lunar difference through the use of the variable day in EQVOS. To
keep in sync with the solar year it only needs to adjust for the difference of 0.087 days. Every 276 years
this adds one day, but as all the notations are luni-solar and move around within 36 days, this extra solar
day would be unnoticeable for many centuries. Eventually the calendar would require a 30-day lunar
month to be skipped once every 6,536 years.[d]

A full cycle of 19 or 30 years

The calendar can perform as a 30-year cycle, by extending the 19-year Metonic cycle to use six 5-year
cycles, with a 30-day intercalary month dropped once every 30 years.[13] But whether it was a 19-year or
30-year calendar is unknown.

Pliny stated that the Celts treated 30 years as an ‘age’,[e] and this period is seen many times in stories. But it
does not necessarily follow that the calendar was then based on a 30-year cycle. If the calendar was a 30-
year cycle, the luni-solar swing would be 46 days, meaning that the timing of festivals would often be
inappropriate to their seasonal nature. For example, Lugnasad might find itself in the middle of the busy
harvest.

In a 30-year calendar, the moon finishes only 0.1515 days earlier than the calendar, requiring a day to be
removed from EQVOS every 199 years. But the lunar/solar difference is larger at 1.4172 days, requiring a
30-day month to be skipped every 198 years. This relatively fast slippage against the solar year would also
add to the already large luni-solar swing, for a total of 75 days before a possible adjustment, further
aggravating the solar discrepancy, and displacing seasonal festivals by up to two and a half months. This
slippage and inaccuracy indicates that the Coligny calendar is more likely to be a practical 19-year calendar
rather than a 30-year cycle.

The start of the lunar month

The calendar month is broken into two halves with the term ATENOVX[f] between them. The first half-
month has 15 days (called a cóicthiges ‘fifteen-days’ in Old Irish, coicise in modern Irish). [16] The second
half-month has either 15 days, or 14 days with the term DIVERTOMV placed over the space for the
15th day. The notation patterns act as though this 'virtual' 15th day is present.

Pliny reported that the Celtic month began on the ‘6th day of the new moon’.[14]

The mistletoe, however, is but rarely found upon the oak; and when found, is gathered with
rites replete with religious awe. This is done more particularly on the sixth day of the
moon, the day which is the beginning of their months and years, as also of their ages,
which, with them, are but thirty years. This day they select because the moon, though not
yet in the middle of her course, has already considerable power and influence; and they
call her by a name which signifies, in their language, the all-healing.

Classical writers counted from the day of the first visible moon, so the 6th day would be the first quarter
moon, Day 1, the start of the calendar's month. The quarter moon with its D-shape is the only moment in
the lunar phase that is easily identifiable by eye. The internal notations of the calendar confirm Pliny's
statement, with a focus on the middle triplet of days in each half-month, days 7-8-9 (the full moon) and
days 7a-8a-9a (the dark invisible moon).

The first coicise tracks the

gibbous moon, the phase in
which the moon is more than
half full, it's brightest half. The
second coicise tracks the
crescent moon, the darker half.
Notations, which will govern
activities, usually focus in the
first, brighter, coicise when the the structure of a coligny month and its lunar phase
moon has ‘considerable power
and influence’. Every odd day in
the darker coicise is marked as ‘inauspicious day’.

Full Reconstruction
A full reconstruction of the calendar by McKay (2020)[17] includes the latest information about the
intercalary notations and the triple marks. Olmsted (2001)[11] offers a previous reconstruction, which
usefully aligns the notations with photographic images. RIG III (1986)[18] presented an earlier in-depth
description of terms with a reconstruction.

Sample month
MID SAMONIOS of year 2 is the only month out of 62 that has been preserved without any
gaps.[19]: 182 (https://archive.org/stream/lalanguegauloise00dottuoft#page/182/mode/2up) Currently, most of the
patterns of the various notations are known, even if their significance may not be understood. Because of
this, most days on the calendar can be reconstructed with confidence.[g]
 M SAMON MAT
◎I N DVMAN IVOS

◎ II ıƚı M D IVOS

◎ III ƚıı D DVM IVO

◎ IIII M D

◎V D AMB
◎ VI M D

◎ VII PRIN LOVDIN

◎ VIII D DVM

◎ VIIII ııƚ M D

◎X M D

◎ XI D AMB
◎ XII M D

◎ XIII ƚıı M D

◎ XIIII ıƚı M D

◎ XV ııƚ M D

ATENOUX
◎I D DVMAN

◎ II ııƚ D TRINVX SAMO

◎ III D AMB

◎ IIII ƚıı M D

◎V ıƚı D AMB

◎ VI ııƚ M D
Drawing of month 14 (Samonios of
◎ VII D AMB
year 2) by de Ricci.[20]
◎ VIII N INIS R

◎ VIIII N INIS R

◎X ƚıı M D

◎ XI ıƚı D AMB IVOS

◎ XII ııƚ M D IVOS

◎ XIII D AMB IVOS

◎ XIIII M D IVOS

◎ XV D AMB IVOS

The month begins with M[ID] SAMON[I] MAT, the 'month of SAMONIOS lucky'.

The double circle "◎" in the table indicates the peg-hole for marking the current day, followed by a Roman
numeral for the day's number in the half-month.

All days here were originally marked as m d 'lucky day' because SAMONIOS is marked as a mat month in
its header, but this will often be subsequently overwritten by other notations d 'day' (neutral), d amb
'unlucky day', or n 'night' as they are added in turn.

The notations are usually visually aligned on the d or n. Terms are often shortened, and the spelling is non-
standard and often varies.

Next are occasional triple-marks of the form ƚıı ıƚı or ııƚ, in that order before major movements and
overwriting.[21] These follow the same offset pattern as the prinni notations, and likely divide the daytime
into three periods.
Days 5 and 11 in the upper coicise and each odd day (except day 1a) in the lower coicise are marked with
d amb 'inauspicious day'. Day 9a will end up having its d amb overwritten by n inis r.

The notation n inis r occurs in this month on days 8a and 9a. The significance of this nighttime term in
unknown.

The name of the following month, dvm(anni), is marked on days 1, 3, 8 and 1a. This tracks the swapping
of these days' notations (all of them) with the following month DUMANIOS days 1, 8, 1a and 2a where
the notations from SAMONIOS have samoni added in their turn. Day 2a, first swapped with DUM day 2a,
then undergoes another anomalous swap with SAM day 3. Days with notations that have been moved are
always marked with their originating month's name (and day name if different).

The notation prinni loud sits in months marked mat, at the first day of the first month (Samonios), the
second day of the second mat month (Rivros), and so on for 8 instances. Another prinni loud originally at
SAMONIOS day 1 has been swapped with DVMANNIOS day 1 below it .

The Day 2a(17) is marked with trinvx samo, and this term also has sindiv ivos 'festival this (one) day'
added to it in years 1 and 4. This means that this day's notations have been swapped with day 3 (trinvx) of
samonios, after first being swapped with DVMANNIOS day 2a, whose notations now sit at

SAMONIOS day 3 ƚıı D DVM IVO. (SAMONIOS day 2a's original notations are found in turn at
DUMMANIOS day 2a).

Days 1–3 are marked with a sequence of ivos, a term interpreted as "festival". This run of ivos started on
the last two days of the previous month CANTLOS, days 13a-14a, so the whole festival lasts for 5 days.
This probably equates with the festival of Beltaine, although these sorts of specific terms are not used on
the calendar, festivals only being marked with runs of ivos.

Finally, Day 1 has its 'day' terms overwritten by a single n, without changing the rest of its notations.
Originally, it started off with ƚıı m d, was swapped with DUM day 1 receiving d dumani, had an ivos added
to give d dumani ivos, and now has that d overwritten by a single n to end up with n dumani ivos. This
single n indicates that the notations of SAMONIOS day 1 in this year 2, d dumani ivos, have been used to
help create the notations of Intercalary Two day 1.[22]

The Notations
Several different notations, each with their own pattern, are placed sequentially on the 12 lunar months of
the calendar, interacting according to certain rules with the notations before them, often replacing them.
After the basic notations are set, many days’ notations are then moved to other days, creating visual chaos.
Finally, the days of the intercalary months are filled with notations copied from certain days in the 12 yearly
months.

The notations, their patterns and interactions have gradually over the last century been identified by several
key researchers, and what follows is a general, but not comprehensive, overview of each notation.

Numbering the days

Each month has two halves. The first half has days numbered from I to XV (1 to 15). The second half has
either I–XV (1–15), or I–XIIII (1–14) with the 15th day marked with DIVERTOMU.[h] The term
ATENOVX is placed between the two half-months. The patterns of the notations act as though the
30th day is always present. This means that in practice some months only have 29 days, but conceptually,
all months have 30 days.

MAT and ANM months and their days

Months of 30 days were marked mat (except EQVOS), months of 29 days were marked anm(at) (except
Intercalary One). mat and anm(at) have been read as "lucky" and "unlucky", respectively, based on
comparison with Middle Welsh mad[23] and anfad[24] and Old Irish mad and ni-mad.[25]

Six months are marked in their header as MAT ‘good, auspicious’, the MAT and ANM months
and six months as ANM[AT] ‘not good’. The summer season has
SAMONIOS GIAMONIOS
4 MAT months, and the winter season only has 2 MAT months. The season season
summer season needs more auspicious time for all its activities. The
1 mat SAM 7 anm GIA
months do not run in 29/30 pairs.
2 anm DUM 8 mat SIM
For months marked as MAT, all days are initially given M D, a
3 mat RIV 9 anm EQU
good or auspicious day. Days of the months marked as ANM are
given just D, a neutral day. The terms M D and D refer to daylight 4 anm ANA 10 anm ELE
hours and are in apposition to N for night. Any type of notation 5 mat OGR 11 mat EDR
marked with N (night) will overwrite the full daytime notation,
including the triple mark, M D, D, or D AMB. 6 mat CVT 12 anm CAN

The notation D AMBRIX RI

D AMBRIX RI, usually

shortened to D AMB, denotes
an inauspicious day. It occurs
only on Days 5 and 11 in the
upper half-month, that being the
period when the moon is more
than half full, so it's mostly left
free of inauspicious days. In the the D AMB pattern (orange) for a lunar month
second half-month, D AMB is
placed on every odd numbered
day except Day 1, but this is explained by the traditional view that the unit 1 is neither odd nor even.[i] The
use of odd numbers as inauspicious is also seen with most months of 29 days being ANMAT ‘not good’. It
is symptomatic of Celtic cultures, as the Romans held the reverse view, that odd numbers were
auspicious.[26]

The triple marks

The triple marks are a series of ogham-like marks. They are first lain down each month in triplets over three
days, ƚıı, ıƚı, or ııƚ, followed by three days with none. As they only occur with days marked with D (for
daytime), and never N (for nighttime), they likely divide the daytime into three divisions.[j]
The triple marks are by far the
most complex notations,
composed of three main patterns.
They do not always repeat
across the years. The first pattern
assigns possible triplet positions
which start on the same offset as
the first PRINI term in the
month, moving down a day in
each of the following MAT or
ANM months. The first triplet
starts on Days 1-2-3 of the base pattern of the triple marks
SAMONIOS in Year 1, Days 2-
3-4 in RIVROS, and so on
following the MAT sequence of months. The equivalent sequence starts on Days 1-2-3 of GIAMONIOS in
Year 3 and follows the ANM months, so mirroring one intercalary period to the other.

If a triplet cannot be completed before the end of a coicise because it starts on Days 14 and 15, or 14a and
15a, or just 14a of a 29-day month, then the triple marks changes to NSDS and DSNS. If a triplet starts
only on day 15, or day 15a, then it changes to a single N.

A second pattern, again following the MAT/ANM sequence, determines which triplets of the first pattern
will manifest from year to year. This means the triple mark on a day/month of one year may not be found
on the same day/month in another year.

A third pattern adds another IIT on Day 21(6a), the last day of the visible moon, adding to another mark if
already there, resulting in each Day 21 holding either TIT, ITT, or IIT.

The triple marks undergo many

changes as other notations are
added. Days with N forms of
notation overwrite the whole
‘day’ notation, e.g. IIT MD
becomes just N, while
ITI D AMB becomes just N.
Days are moved and exchanged,
often overwritten and lost,
intercalary borrowed days are
marked with N, and so on. The
result turns a complex pattern of the final triple marks of year 4 (after all exchanges)
triple marks into visual chaos.[k]

The notations PRINI LOUD and PRINI LAG

PRINI LOUD has the same MAT month offset, and PRINI LAG the same ANM month offset, as the
triple marks. If it falls on a triple mark, it replaces it, along with any M D, D, or D AMB. The
PRINI LOUD of SIM 5 is later overwritten by N INIS R. Exchanges will lead to some PRINI LOUD
ending up in ANM months, and vice versa. PRINI LOUD does not only occur in the SAMONIOS season,
and PRINI LAG does not only occur in the GIAMONIOS season – the SAMONIOS season of 6 months,
and the GIAMONIOS season, both contain examples of PRINI LOUD and PRINI LAG.
 the PRINI LOUD and PRINI LAG pattern
MAT months ANM months
month
PRINI LOUD day PRINI LAG day
1 SAM 1 7

2 DUM 5
3 RIV 2 8
4 ANA 6

5 OGR 3
6 CUT 4

7 GIA 1 7
8 SIM 5
9 EQU 2 8

10 ELE 3 9
11 AED 6
12 CAN 4

The notation N INIS R

The term N INIS R is scattered

across the lunar year. The
significance of its distribution is
undiagnosed. All but three
instances occur in the seven
months of the SAMONIOS
season plus the month of
GIAMONIOS. It avoids the
days marked with IVOS
‘festival’. As it occurs on seven
nights when the moon is absent the N INIS R pattern
in the sky (the dark moon of 7a-
8a-9a), and avoids the critical
moments of the full moon of day 8 and the first visible moon of day 10a, it possibly refers to
prognostication associated with stars.

The notations IVOS and SINDIV IVOS

The term IVOS ‘festival’[l]

occurs in several runs of days of
between three and nine days
each, considered to mark each
day of a festival. In all but two
cases these festivals run from the
end of one month into the
beginning of the next. Four of
these IVOS runs break the year
into four-quarters, just as the
four main Celtic festivals do in the notations IVOS, SINDIV IVOS, and TIOCOBRIXTIO
historic times, only here they are centered on Day 1 every three lunar months, rather than Day 1 of every
three solar months as today.

There are also three other IVOS festivals on the calendar.

The term SINDIV IVOS ‘this day a festival’, occurs only three times – DUM 2a, SIM 9, and AED 25.
These three special festival days must indicate something of exceptional importance in the year.

The notation TIOCOBRIXTIO

TIOCOBRIXTIO is an exceptional term which only occurs on three days in the year – SIM 7, AED 8,
and CAN 15. Whatever its significance, it marks days of exceptional importance.

Movement of notations between days

At this point, most notations have been assigned their base position on the calendar. What happens next is a
major feature of the calendar, the movement of one day's notations to a different day. This visually breaks
up the patterns of the notations, making the calendar seem quite random. This exchanging of days
according to several different patterns, is a major aspect of the calendar, involving a total of 870 days over
5 years.

EXCHANGES: swapping notations between two days

There are several patterns in

which two days swap their
notations.[m]

The first pattern only

involves Day 1 in four
pairs of months.
The second pattern
involves days other than
Day 1, and uses a
different set of four pairs the pairs of swapped days
of months to swap
between. Days are
swapped with the same day of a neighbouring month.
A third pattern is called the anomalous swaps, where days are swapped between a different
day of a month. This occurs just three times per year: between SAM 3 and SAM 2a,
between RIV 4 and RIV 10a, and between RIV 8a and ANA 4.[n]

As the notations of one day are moved to another, they take the information with them about their original
position (presumably so that one day can be used to prognosticate for its swapped partner). As most
movements are to the same day of the month, the day information is redundant, so only the month name (in
the genitive) is added. But anomalous swaps between different days require both their original day name
and the month to be added.[o]

EXCHANGES: dragging notations between months

For the 12 lunar months after an
intercalary month, the notations
of the triplet of days 7-8-9 (the
full moon) and 7a-8a-9a (the
dark moon) in each month are
dragged sequentially upwards to
the previous month, like beads
on a string. Their original month
name is then added to the
notations.
examples of the same and different day swaps

examples of dragging notations

YEAR 1
pre-drag post-drag
month/day
GIAM 7 PRINI LAG MD SIMIVIS TIOCOBREXTIO
GIAM 8 D MD SIMIVIS

GIAM 9 N INIS R MD SIMIVIS SINDIV IVOS

SIMIVIS 7 MD TIOCOBREXTIO D EQVI

SIMIVIS 8 MD PRINI LAG EQVI
SIMIVIS 9 MD SINDIV IVOS D EQVI

EQUOS 7 D D ELEMB

EQUOS 8 PRINI LAG D ELEMB

EQUOS 9 D EQVI D ELEMB

examples of dragging IVOS

The notation IVOS is also sequentially dragged upwards a
YEAR 1
month in the post-intercalary year. However, it does not take all pre-drag post-drag
month/day
the other notations with it. This keeps the festival runs marked
with IVOS intact. The same also applies to SINDIV IVOS. OGRON 28 D AMB D AMB IVOS

OGRON 29 MD MD IVOS
OGRON 30 D AMB D AMB IVOS

CUTIOS 1 MD MD IVOS
CUTIOS 2 MD MD IVOS
CUTIOS 3 MD MD IVOS

CUTIOS 28 D AMB IVOS D AMB

CUTIOS 29 MD IVOS MD
CUTIOS 30 D AMB IVOS D AMB
GIAM 1 MD SIMI IVOS MD SIMI

GIAM 2 MD IVOS D
GIAM 3 MD IVOS D
The notations of the intercalary months

The notations on the days of the intercalary months are created by a

complex series of copies and merges of notations from certain days
in the normal lunar months. Each day of an intercalary month
sequentially copies a lunar month and the same day number, with its
source month name added. At first 30 days are copied, and for days
1 to 18, their day number is replaced with a single N at the copied
site. Secondly, a sequence of days 1 to 6 is again copied from a
different year, and these are merged with the first. Thirdly, the days
7-8-9 and 7a-8a-9a which have been dragged from the following
month are again merged with the copied notations. At which point,
the calendar's notations are complete.
days copied to the intercalary
months

Footnotes
a. "L'étymologie est transparent puisque le nom du mois et fait sur celui de l'hiver giamo-." —
Delamarre (2003)[6]: 179

[The etymology is transparent since the name of the month is made on that of the winter
"giamo-".]
b. EQVOS in year 1 and 5 is marked with 30 days, and the verse above the second intercalary
month says Year 3 has 355 days, making EQVOS 30 days. Years 2 and 4 are on lost
fragments but may have also been marked on the plaque as 30 days long. Early scholars
struggled to fit values to EQVOS which would create a Metonic cycle, for example
MacNeill[9] suggested that Equos in years 2 and 4 may have had only 28 days,[9] while
Olmsted suggested 28 days in year 2 and 29 days in year 4.[10][11] However, this issue was
resolved when McKay re-evaluated the first intercalary as 29 days long[12] allowing a pattern
of 29 or 30-day months as normal and a correct Metonic cycle. The length of EQVOS may
have been decided by a visual sighting of the first quarter moon which would start the next
month. This gives a usual pattern of 30/29/29/29/30 days for EQVOS.
c. The lunar month does not slip but remains perfectly tuned to the lunar phase, so the age of
the calendar cannot be ascertained by any proposed slippage
d. Unfortunately, because the calendar remains so steady and does not slip against the solar
year except for a day every 276 years, this accuracy means that any slippage of perhaps a
day or two against the solar year cannot be used to calculate how old the calendar is.
e. The Latin text of the specific passage in Pliny[14] is

... est autem id rarum admodum inventu et repertum magna religione petitur et ante
omnia sexta luna, quae principia mensum annorumque his facit et saeculi post
tricesimum annum, quia iam virium abunde habeat nec sit sui dimidia.

— Pliny, Natural History 16.95[14]

English translation by Bostock & Riley:[14]

"The mistletoe, however, is but rarely found upon the oak; and when found, is gathered
with rites replete with religious awe. This is done more particularly on the sixth day of
 the moon, the day which is the beginning of their months and years, as also of their
ages, which, with them, are but thirty years. This day they select because the moon,
though not yet in the middle of her course, has already considerable power and
influence; and they call her by a name which signifies, in their language, the all-
healing."
f. cf. Old Irish athnugud "renewal"[15]
g. The notations of each day/month are not always the same across all years, so the calendar
cannot be simply filled out by copying a known day into the same day/month on a lacuna
h. Because the day numbers are repeated in the upper and lower coicise, researchers use
either the number with 'a' attached for the lower coicise, or continue on the sequence. For
example, Day VI (6) in the lower coicise is given as either Day 6a or Day 21.
i. unus non-est numerus sed ab eo crescunt numeri ‘one is not a number, but numbers grow
from it’[8]: 16
j. A trace of the pre-Christian division of the day into three may be found here.

For this is how Conchobor spends his time of kingship since he assumed sovereignty:
as soon as he arises, settling the cares and business of the province, thereafter
dividing the day into three, the first third of the day spent watching the youths playing
games and hurling, the second third spent in playing brandub and fidchell and the last
third spent in consuming food and drink until sleep comes on them all, while minstrels
and musicians are meanwhile lulling him to sleep.[27]

k. For a full explanation of the patterns of the triple marks, see McKay (2018)[21]
l. Thurneysen (1899)[28]: 530 suggested IVOS means "festival", although the etymology is
obscure. The word ivos is also the Celtic word for "yew" – Rhys (1910),[29]: 52 c.f. Ivo, īwaz,
and Zavaroni[30]: 97 suggested a meaning of "(con)junction", but neither meaning has found
wide support.
m. Exchanged days always occur between neighbouring months, but are not always between
MAT and ANM months
n. The anomalous swaps were partially identified by MacNeill in 1928,[9]: 9 later by Duval &
Pinault in 1986,[18]: 267-340 Olmsted in 1988,[31] and McKay in 2018.[21]: 95
o. The notation TRINVX SAMONI, found at SAM 2a, means that its notations were originally at
SAMONIOS day 3 in the upper coicise. SAM 3 is the last day of the IVOS festival at the
beginning of SAMONIOS, presumably the equivalent of the Beltaine festival. It is not
associated with Samhain, being in the summer month of SAMONIOS. It is not a three-night
festival, being explicitly marked as a daytime D ‘day’ and SINDIV IVOS ‘festival this (one)
day’.

References
1. Charles Picard, Le bronze de Coligny (http://tristan.u-bourgogne.fr/Rosenthal/Documents/ou
vrages/Florilege_Rosenthal.pdf), in L. Rosenthal, "Florilège des musées" du Palais des Arts
de Lyon, p. 9, Mairie de Lyon, [s.d.] (1920<>1932).
2. Lambert p. 111. Coligny Calendar (https://web.archive.org/web/20040917021219/http://ww
w.roman-britain.org/celtic/coligny.htm)
3. Duval, P.M. and Pinault, G., Recueil des inscriptions gauloises, Tome 3: Les Calendriers
(Coligny, Villards d'Heria), CNRS, Paris, 1986, pp. 35–37.
4. Lambert, Pierre-Yves, La langue gauloise, Editions Errance, 2nd edition, Paris, 2003, p.111
 5. Lehoux, D.R. (2000). Parapegmata: or Astrology, Weather, and Calendars in the Ancient
World (http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp03/NQ53766.pdf) (PDF) (PhD
thesis). Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto.
6. Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: une approche linguistique du
vieux-celtique continental (2nd ed.). Paris, FR: Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-237-6.
7. Meyer (1888). "Wooing of Emer" (http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/ctexts/emer.html).
Archaeological Review. 1. >
8. Cormac mac Cuillenán (c. 900). Stokes, Whitley (ed.). "Sanas Cormaic" (http://www.ucd.ie/tl
h/header/ws.tig.001.header.html). Thesaurus Linguae Hibernicae. Dublin, IE: University
College Dublin. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
Russell, Paul; Arbuthnot, Sharon; Moran, Pádraic. "Early Irish Glossaries Database" (http://w
ww.asnc.cam.ac.uk/irishglossaries). University of Cambridge. Retrieved 2014-03-07.
See Wikipedia article: Sanas Cormaic
9. MacNeill, Eóin (1928). "On the notation and chronology of the calendar of Coligny". Ériu. X:
1–67.
10. Olmsted, Garrett (1992). The Gaulish Calendar: A reconstruction from the bronze fragments
from Coligny, with an analysis of its function as a highly accurate lunar-solar predictor, as
well as an explanation of its terminology and development. Bonn, DE: R. Habelt. ISBN 3-
7749-2530-5.
11. Garrett Olmsted, (2001) A Definitive Reconstructed Text of the Coligny Calendar
ISBN 9780941694780
12. McKay, Helen T. (2016). "The Coligny calendar as a Metonic lunar calendar" (https://www.pe
rsee.fr/doc/ecelt_0373-1928_2016_num_42_1_2471). Études celtiques. 42: 95–121.
doi:10.3406/ecelt.2016.2471 (https://doi.org/10.3406%2Fecelt.2016.2471).
13. Ricci (1898)
14. Pliny the Elder (1855). "Book 16, "the natural history of the forest trees" English translation"
(https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0137&query
=head%3D%231009). In Bostock, John; Riley, Henry T. (eds.). The Natural History. {{cite
book}}: |website= ignored (help) "Original Latin" (https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thaye
r/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/16*.html). penelope. University of Chicago.
15. Toner, Gregory [director], Maxim Fomin, Grigory Bondarenko, Thomas Torma, Caoimhín Ó
Dónaill, and Hilary Lavelle, ed. (2007). "eDIL: electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language" (ht
tps://dil.ie/4844). Dublin, IE: Royal Irish Academy. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
16. Toner, Gregory [director], Maxim Fomin, Grigory Bondarenko, Thomas Torma, Caoimhín Ó
Dónaill, and Hilary Lavelle, ed. (2007). "eDIL: electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language" (ht
tps://dil.ie/10088). Dublin, IE: Royal Irish Academy. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
17. McKay, Helen (2020). "THE COLIGNY CALENDAR A FULL RECONSTRUCTION With
MODERN DATES second cycle" (https://www.academia.edu/44306410). academia.edu.
Retrieved March 1, 2023.
18. Duval, Paul-Marie; Pinault, Georges, eds. (1986). Les calendriers de Coligny (73 fragments)
et Villards d'Heria (8 fragments). Recueil des inscriptions gauloises. Vol. Tome 3. Paris, FR:
Editions du CNRS. pp. 35–37.
19. Dottin (1920). La langue gauloise : grammaire, textes, et glossaire (https://archive.org/strea
m/lalanguegauloise00dottuoft#page/182/mode/2up) [The Gaulish Language: Grammar,
texts, and glossary]. Vol. 53. pp. 182–191.
20. de Ricci, S. (December 1926). "Le calendrier celtique de Coligny". Journal des savants:
448–449.
21. McKay, Helen (2018). "Defining the systematic patterns for the triple marks of the Coligny
calendar". Études Celtiques. XLIV: 91–118. doi:10.3406/ecelt.2018.2182 (https://doi.org/10.
3406%2Fecelt.2018.2182).
22. McKay, Helen T. (2022). "Building the Intercalary Months of the Coligny calendar". Études
celtiques. 53: 55–78.
23. Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies, ed. (1921). "Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru A
Dictionary of the Welsh Language" (https://welsh-dictionary.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html?mad).
Aberystwyth: Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
24. Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies, ed. (1921). "Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru A
Dictionary of the Welsh Language" (https://welsh-dictionary.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html?anfad).
Aberystwyth: Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
25. Toner, Gregory [director], Maxim Fomin, Grigory Bondarenko, Thomas Torma, Caoimhín Ó
Dónaill, and Hilary Lavelle, ed. (2007). "eDIL: electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language" (ht
tps://dil.ie/31224). Dublin, IE: Royal Irish Academy. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
26. Theodor Mommsen (1864). Dickson, William Purdie (ed.). The Period Anterior to the
Abolition of the Monarchy (https://archive.org/details/historyrome00dickgoog/page/n6/mode/
2up?view=theater). The History of Rome. Vol. 1. London: Richard Bentley.
27. O'Rahilly, Cecile, ed. (1967). Tain bo Cuailnge (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T301035/te
xt004.html). Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
28. Thurneysen, Rudolf (1899). "Der Kalender von Coligny". Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie.
2: 523–544. doi:10.1515/zcph.1899.2.1.523 (https://doi.org/10.1515%2Fzcph.1899.2.1.523).
S2CID 188129133 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:188129133).
29. Rhys, John (1910). Notes on the Coligny Calendar Together with an Edition of the
Reconstructed Calendar. From the Proceedings of the British Academy, Volume 4 (Report).
Oxford: Oxford U Press.
30. Zavaroni, Adolfo (2007). On the structure and terminology of the Gaulish calendar (Report).
British Series. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports.
31. Olmsted, Garrett (1988). "The use of ordinal numerals on the Gaulish Coligny calendar". The
Journal of Indo-European Studies. 16: 296.

Bibliography
Delamarre, Xavier (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: une approche linguistique du
vieux-celtique continental. 2nd edition, Paris, Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-237-6.
Dottin, Georges, La langue gauloise : grammaire, textes et glossaire (1920) no. 53, pp. 172–
207 (https://archive.org/stream/lalanguegauloise00dottuoft#page/172/mode/2up).
Duval, Paul-Marie and Pinault, Georges (eds) (1986). Recueil des inscriptions gauloises
(R.I.G.), Vol. 3: Les calendriers de Coligny (73 fragments) et Villards d'Heria (8 fragments).
Paris, Editions du CNRS.
Hitz, Hans-Rudolf (1991). Der gallo-lateinische Mond- und Sonnen-Kalender von Coligny.
Joyce, P.W. (2000). "Old Celtic Romances". The pursuit of the Giolla Dacker and his horse.
Wordsworth Editions Limited, London.
Laine-Kerjean, C. (1943). "Le calendrier celtique". Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, 23,
pp. 249–84.
Delamarre, Xavier (2003). La langue gauloise. Paris, Editions Errance. 2nd edition. ISBN 2-
87772-224-4. Chapter 9 is titled "Un calandrier gaulois".
Le Contel, Jean-Michel and Verdier, Paul (1997). Un calendrier celtique: le calendrier
gaulois de Coligny. Paris, Editions Errance. ISBN 2-87772-136-1
 Mc Cluskey, Stephen C. (1990). "The Solar Year in the Calendar of Coligny". Études
Celtiques, 27, pp. 163–74.
McKay, Helen (2016). "The Coligny calendar as a Metonic lunar calendar". Études
Celtiques, XLII, pp. 95–122.
McKay, Helen (2018). "Defining the systematic patterns for the triple marks of the Coligny
calendar". Études Celtiques, XLIV, pp. 91–118.
McKay, Helen (2022). "Building the Intercalary Months of the Coligny calendar". Études
Celtiques, XLVIII, pp. 55–78.
Mac Neill, Eóin (1928). "On the notation and chronology of the Calendar of Coligny". Ériu, X,
pp. 1–67.
Monard, Joseph (1996). About the Coligny Calendar. privately published monograph.
Monard, Joseph (1996). Découpage saisonnier de l'année celtique. privately published
monograph.
Monard, Joseph (1999). Histoire du calendrier gaulois : le calendrier de Coligny. Paris,
Burillier. ISBN 2-912616-01-8
Olmsted, Garrett (1992). The Gaulish calendar: a reconstruction from the bronze fragments
from Coligny, with an analysis of its function as a highly accurate lunar-solar predictor, as
well as an explanation of its terminology and development. Bonn: R. Habelt. ISBN 3-7749-
2530-5
Parisot, Jean-Paul (1985). "Les phases de la Lune et les saisons dans le calendrier de
Coligny". Études indo-européennes, 13, pp. 1–18.
Pinault, J. (1951). "Notes sur le vocabulaire gaulois, I. Les noms des mois du calendrier de
Coligny". Ogam, XIII, pp. 143–154
Rhys, John (1910). "The Coligny Calendar". Proceedings of the British Academy, 4,
pp. 207–318.
Thurneysen, Rudolf (1899). "Der Kalender von Coligny". Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie,
2, pp. 523–544
Zavaroni, Adolfo (2007). On the structure and terminology of the Gaulish calendar, British
Archaeological Reports British Series.

External links
The Gallic calendar – Lugdunum Museum (https://lugdunum.grandlyon.com/en/Highlighted-
work/2381-The-Gallic-calendar)

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