Veraudunus is the name of a

Celtic god The gods and goddesses of the pre-Christian Celtic peoples are known from a variety of sources, including ancient places of worship, statues, engravings, cult objects and place or personal names. The ancient Celts appear to have had a pantheon ...

known only from two votive inscriptions found in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. One of these inscriptions suggests that ‘Veraudunus’ may have been an epithet of the important Treveran god

Lenus Lenus ( grc, Ληνός) was a Celtic healing god worshipped mainly in eastern Gaul, where he was almost always identified with the Roman god Mars. Name The theonym ''Lenos'' may derive from a stem ''lēno''-, which could mean 'wood, bocage' (c ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

. In both inscriptions, Veraudunus is invoked along with

Inciona Inciona is a little-known Celtic goddess of the Treveran region. Her name is recorded as one of a pair of deities on two votive inscriptions from Luxembourg. On the large stone slab from Mensdorf on the Widdebierg, pictured at right, she is inv ...

. On the large stone slab from

Mensdorf Mensdorf () is a small town in the commune of Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. , the town has a population of 765. Local associations Mensdorf is home to a fanfare band, Fanfare de Mensdorf, which was founded on 1952. It is member of the Uni ...

on the

Widdebierg Widdebierg is a hill in the commune of Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. At 386 metres, it is one of the highest points in the canton of Grevenmacher. It is in the centre of a nature reserve (named ''Widdebierg'' after the hill), which lies bet ...

, pictured at right, the god Veraudunus (DEO VERAVDVNO) and Inciona are invoked in honour of the imperial family in fulfilment of a vow made by Marcus Pl(autius?) Restitutus' mother Alpinia Lucana.Musée d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourg. 1974. ''Pierres sculptées et inscriptions de l'époque romaine'', catalogued by Eugénie Wilhelm, p.71. The second inscription is a small bronze votive plaque from Kaul in Luxembourg, which reads: : EO MAR Ibr>VERAVDVN(O) ET
INCION(A)E MI
TIVS PRIS
CINVS EX VOT(O) If the letters NO MAR can be restored as ''Leno Marti'', then ‘Veraudunus’ appears to be an epithet of

, the tribal protector of the

Treveri The Trēverī (Gaulish: *''Trēueroi'') were a Celtic tribe of the Belgae group who inhabited the lower valley of the Moselle from around 150 BCE, if not earlier, until their displacement by the Franks. Their domain lay within the southern fringe ...

who inhabited what is now Luxembourg. The name of the Widdebierg itself has been said to derive from ‘Veraudunus’.« Deux inscriptions indiquent qu'il enus Marsporte le surnom local de Veraudunus dont est dérivé le toponyme Widdenberg ». From a wall plaque at the Musée national d'histoire et d'art, Luxembourg.

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See also