A nemeton (plural: nemeta) was a sacred space of ancient Celtic religion. Nemeta appear to have been primarily situated in natural areas, often sacred groves. However, other evidence suggests that the word implied a wider variety of ritual spaces, such as shrines and temples. Evidence for nemeta consists chiefly of inscriptions and toponymy or place-names, which occur all across the Celtic world. Toponyms related to the word nemeton occur as far west as Galicia in the Iberian peninsula, as far north as Scotland, and as far east as central Turkey. The word is related to the name of the Nemetes tribe living by the Rhine between the Palatinate and Lake Constance in what is now Germany, and their goddess Nemetona.
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Nemeton in the context of Holy grove
Sacred groves, sacred woods, or sacred forests are groves of trees that have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. These are forest areas that are, for the most part, untouched by local people and often protected by local communities. They often play a critical role in protecting water sources and biodiversity, including essential resources for the groups that protect them.
They were important features of the mythological landscape and cult practice of Celtic, Estonian, Baltic, Germanic, ancient Greek, Near Eastern, Roman, and Slavic polytheism. They are also found in locations such as India (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu), Japan (sacred shrine forests), China (Fengshui woodland), West Africa and Ethiopia (church forests). Examples of sacred groves include the Greco-Roman temenos, various Germanic words for sacred groves, and the Celtic nemeton, which was largely but not exclusively associated with Druidic practice.
Nemeton in the context of Nemetes
The Nemetes or Nemeti were a tribe settled along the Upper Rhine by Ariovistus in the 1st century BC.
Their area of settlement was the contact zone between Celtic (Gaulish) and Germanic peoples. According to Tacitus, the Nemetes were "unquestionably Germanic". The name of the tribe, however, is Celtic as the name of its main town Noviomagus meaning novios 'new' and magos 'plain', 'market' (cf. Welsh maes 'field', Old Irish mag 'plain'), as are those of several gods worshipped in their territory, including Nemetona, who is thought to have been their eponymous deity. Both of these names are taken to be derivations from the Celtic stem nemeto- "sacred grove".