Berne zinc tablet A Gaulish inscription (though this is debated,
whether the language is truly Gaulish or Latin) to the smithing
god Gobannos. It was found in Bern, Switzerland, in 1980. The
tablet was made on a type of alloy originally thought to be
modern zinc, and thus a forgery, but later proved to be an alloy
of copper, lead, iron, tin, and cadmium, made from the scraps at
a forge--an appropriate material, given the deity involved. The
inscription itself is obscure: "Dobnoredo Gobano Brenodor
Nantaror". First, the inscription is apparently a mixture of
Greek and Latin alphabets, both having been used by the Celts.
"Dobnoredo" may be *dubno- "world" and *redo- "wheel" or
"chariot", and refer to the god as "world traveller" or "world-
wheel [creator]". In Irish myth, Goibniu's companion is Creidne,
a wheel-wright. "Nantaror" may come from nant "valley", meaning
"the Valley of the Aare", a river in Switzerland which runs
through Bern. "Brenodor" is more difficult. Its placement with
Nantaror probably indicat