Celtic Grove — A Soap with Ancient Roots
The Celts were a diverse group of ancient peoples who lived across much of Europe, particularly in Ireland, Britain, France and Central Europe. Though they were never a single unified nation, Celtic communities shared related languages, artistic traditions and a deep connection to nature, using local herbs and plants in everyday life, ceremony and personal care.Nearly two thousand years ago, Roman writers were already describing a cleansing preparation associated with the Celtic peoples of Gaul. Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century AD, called soap an invention of the Gauls, explaining that it was made from fat and the ashes of trees.
“Soap… [was] an invention of the Gauls.” — Pliny the Elder, Natural History XXVIII.191, c. AD 77
Celtic Groves olive, coconut and castor oils create a rich cleansing bar, while cedar, pine, juniper and cypress bring the character of the forest. These aromatic tree oils are traditionally valued for their fresh, deodorizing, clarifying and cleansing qualities, while sage contributes an herbal, purifying note. Peppermint adds a cooling, refreshing sensation, and black pepper gives warmth and an invigorating finish. The connection is especially fitting because Pliny specifically described Gallic soap as being made with tree ash. Ancient soapmakers relied on the forest for the alkali needed to make soap; Celtic Grove returns to the forest for its aromatic plant oils.
So while this recipe belongs to the present day, the idea reaches back almost 2,000 years: oils, herbs and trees transformed into something useful, fragrant and cleansing by the soapmaker’s craft.
Primary source: Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia (Natural History), Book XXVIII, §191, c. AD 77.
Celtic Grove — A Soap with Ancient Roots
The Celts were a diverse group of ancient peoples who lived across much of Europe, particularly in Ireland, Britain, France and Central Europe. Though they were never a single unified nation, Celtic communities shared related languages, artistic traditions and a deep connection to nature, using local herbs and plants in everyday life, ceremony and personal care.Nearly two thousand years ago, Roman writers were already describing a cleansing preparation associated with the Celtic peoples of Gaul. Pliny the Elder, writing in the first century AD, called soap an invention of the Gauls, explaining that it was made from fat and the ashes of trees.
“Soap… [was] an invention of the Gauls.” — Pliny the Elder, Natural History XXVIII.191, c. AD 77
Celtic Groves olive, coconut and castor oils create a rich cleansing bar, while cedar, pine, juniper and cypress bring the character of the forest. These aromatic tree oils are traditionally valued for their fresh, deodorizing, clarifying and cleansing qualities, while sage contributes an herbal, purifying note. Peppermint adds a cooling, refreshing sensation, and black pepper gives warmth and an invigorating finish. The connection is especially fitting because Pliny specifically described Gallic soap as being made with tree ash. Ancient soapmakers relied on the forest for the alkali needed to make soap; Celtic Grove returns to the forest for its aromatic plant oils.
So while this recipe belongs to the present day, the idea reaches back almost 2,000 years: oils, herbs and trees transformed into something useful, fragrant and cleansing by the soapmaker’s craft.
Primary source: Pliny the Elder, Naturalis Historia (Natural History), Book XXVIII, §191, c. AD 77.
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