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The Pillar of the Boatmen: the Ancient Monument to Cernunnos

The Pillar of the Boatmen: the Ancient Monument to Cernunnos

Last updated on: October 18, 2026 at 3:00 am by John Beckett

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The Pillar of the Boatmen: the Ancient Monument to Cernunnos 2026-10-16T16:28:59-06:00 John Beckett

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I had no intention of going to France this year.

Last year I booked a trip to Egypt, which has been on my bucket list since I first saw The Mummy as a little kid. We were scheduled to go in April. And then someone who promised “no more wars” started a war with Iran and travel to the Middle East became difficult. Cathy and I had decided that if the trip ran we were going regardless of the risk, but the tour operator cancelled. We looked for a replacement trip for later in the year, and rather than risk being disappointed if Egypt fell through again, we booked a trip to France. A few days in the south of France, a cruise up the Rhône river, and then the high speed train to Paris. At the least we would enjoy some good food, good wine, and see a part of the world we had never seen before.

As soon as we started talking about Paris I knew I had to find a way to see the Pillar of the Boatmen. We ended up in a hotel about a mile and a half away from the museum where it resides, and our schedule had an open morning. I booked advance tickets about a month ago.

And then last Tuesday I visited the Musée de Cluny and my first stop was the Frigidarium, which contains the Pillar of the Boatmen and several other artifacts from the Roman era. The experience was powerful.

[Do NOT tell me this was “meant to be” or anything of the sort. I know divine intervention when I experience it and this wasn’t that. This was taking a disappointing situation and making it into something good.]

Cernunnos, as he was known 2000 years ago

A 2000 year old sculpture

The Pillar of the Boatmen is a Romano-Gaulish sculpture that dates from the 1st century CE. It contains the only written record of the name Cernunnos. Other deities depicted on the pillar include Jupiter, Vulcan, Castor, and Pollux.

Per the Wikipedia page, scholars are uncertain if the original monument was one pillar with four sections or two pillars with two sections each. Part of it is lost and part is damaged beyond readability. The modern speculative reconstruction shown on Wikipedia was not in the museum when I visited it – that photograph is now 20 years old.

What is certain is that at some point, the pillar was disassembled and the blocks reused for structural purposes at the site that became Notre Dame de Paris. It was found in 1710 and relocated to the building that became the Musée de Cluny about a half mile away, where it remains today.

the Pillar of the Boatmen in four sections

What the sculpture tells us

What do we know about Cernunnos from the Pillar of the Boatmen? Not much. In “Cernunnos Then and Now” in The Book of Cernunnos, Jason Mankey says:

The Pillar of the Boatmen contains the very recognizable head of Cernunnos, and it’s similar to the image on the Gundestrup Cauldron, containing both antlers and torcs.

and

The Pillar of the Boatmen was paid for by sailors who travelled the river Seine. The panel featuring Cernunnos on the Gundestrup Cauldron contains a woman riding either a dolphin or a large fish, another curious link to Cernunnos and water. Coins, which are mined from the earth and often guarded by Gods of death such as Hades, were sacred to Cernunnos, perhaps also linking him to the underworld.

Some modern Pagans argue that because the Pillar was commissioned by sailors (who were likely merchants) Cernunnos must be a God of Commerce. While that line of thinking is logical (and might be correct – we have no way of knowing for sure), for me it relies too heavily on the idea of deities as the personification of functions and not enough on deities as whole persons.

But without the Pillar of the Boatmen we would have no record of the name Cernunnos.

My experience of another Cernunnos-related artifact

One of my few regrets is not traveling earlier in life. I’ve tried to make up for that over the last 20 years or so, and I’ve emphasized visiting places with religious and spiritual significance for me. Sometimes my experiences on these pilgrimages have been thrilling and fulfilling and other times they’ve been more low key.

In 2016 I was able to see another major artifact connected to Cernunnos: the Gundestrup Cauldron.

It was overwhelming. I wanted to drink from the Cauldron, but I didn’t have to physically consume anything to be filled with its magic, its power, and its holiness. I don’t know how long I stood there taking it all in.

As we approached the museum, I wondered if this would be like that experience, or if it would be something else.

the Frigidarium in the Musee de Cluny, Paris

Wonder and awe, and a response

The Frigidarium is mostly empty, and there were only a few people in the room early on a Tuesday morning. I found the Pillar and then the segment with Cernunnos, and I stood there in awe for a few moments. I said a brief extemporaneous prayer of thanksgiving and devotion.

I heard a very clear response: “I’m glad you’re here. But you know me alive in the wild, not carved in stone.”

And then “your work is in the present, not in the past.”

This was not disappointment – far from it. This was confirmation.

I spent some time in front of all the carvings on all the blocks. Some are in better condition than others – they’re all fascinating. The Musée de Cluny is not particularly large – we spent about an hour seeing the other exhibits. This is a museum of the Middle Ages – the vast majority of the artwork is explicitly Christian, though some is secular. Cathy found a couple of pieces of particular interest to her – you’re likely to see some of them as blog illustrations in the coming months.

When we were done I went back to the Frigidarium for a final visit.

The past provides context – we live in the present

As I see it, statues and other physical representations of deities are focuses for our contemplation, devotion, and worship. They are homes for the Gods, not the Gods themselves (some modern polytheists disagree – I respect that opinion and I see no reason to argue).

The Pillar of the Boatmen is no exception. It was built to honor Cernunnos and other deities important to those who commissioned it, to tell people of their Gods’ power and might. It still does that today.

But you need not go to Paris to meet Cernunnos. You need only step outside, whisper his name, and listen.

Hail Cernunnos!

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