Libredón, Arcis Marmoricis, new etymologies in the possible archaeological scenario of the pre-Roman Celtic Santiago de Compostela

The Celtic nature of pre-Roman Galicia and during the Roman occupation is increasingly accepted as a fact in academic circles. Around 50 per cent of Galicia's toponyms have their etymology in the Celtic language. This Celtic language spoken in Galicia would not be related to Gaulish (Brittonic), but would be close to Irish (Gaelic). For these reasons, I decided to investigate a completely Celtic solution for the toponym Libredón. Together with a review of the Latin etymology of Arcis Marmoricis, I see that these two main toponyms in the legends of Santiago correctly describe the topography, hydrography and buildings that were to be found in Libredón from the Celtic era until the time of the Roman occupation. This leads me to think that the etymologies I propose would have a good level of feasibility. My research has led to interesting discoveries about the etymology of the toponym duno and its descendants in Galicia and the Iberian Peninsula, which I have compared with toponyms with the same root in France. Based on these investigations, at the end of this article I try to discern through the mist of time a little more of the possible pre-Roman religious setting on the hill where the beautiful cathedral of Santiago de Compostela now stands. The positioning of the three main water sources in the Libredón catches my eye; they "embrace" the cathedral and at the same time seem to point in the direction of the rising sun. The Libredón may be linked to the cult of Lug. Being a funerary hill and Galicia being a region of predominantly Celtic culture, the Libredón would have been the dwelling place of Dôn, the Gaelic deity of death. I hope this article contributes to the debate on these relevant topics in the pre-Roman history of Compostela.