The cross and the presence or lack of Christian influences

[Koen G]

Now this is a peculiar line of reasoning. "I can only think of paganism or souls, so it must be either paganism or souls".

Yes, you are right.

So far though, the evidence only allows for those two readings, but there may of course be more - it's never simple.

I also don't think the nymphs are souls as in the spirits of dead people. Like you say, this would result in a better mix of sexes (or an exclusively male group even).

The way I should have phrased it is that the evidence at the moment strongly suggest a pagan origin and/or an explanation of the nymphs as non-physical beings. I'd rather say human representations of abstract concepts than "souls".

"Spirit" is a broad term, but in some meanings of the word it can surely be relevant for the nymphs. What I don't understand is how this can be combined with the (still dominant?) balneo-medical view on quire 13...