© Courtesy Senhouse Roman Museum
Posted on 06/19/2015 12:21:39 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
The final opportunity to visit the award-winning annual dig at the Maryport Roman Temples Project and learn about the excavation directly from lectures by the archaeologists involved has begun in Cumbria.
The eight-week dig aims to explore Roman Maryport’s complex religious landscape and to learn more about the famous altars found at the site, on display in nearby Senhouse Roman Museum...
The majority of the altars, dedicated annually by the commanders of the Roman fort, were found in an 1870 excavation by Humphrey Senhouse.
Since then, the five year project, commissioned by the Senhouse Museum Trust and supported by Newcastle University, has done much to develop understanding of the altars.
In 2011 the project team discovered that the altars were re-used as the foundations for a Roman timber building or buildings and had not been buried as part of a religious ceremony.
Another complete altar was unearthed in the 2012 excavation, with an inscription by T Attius Tutor, commander of the Maryport garrison, known to have served in Austria, Hungary and Romania during his career. A late Roman/early Medieval cemetery was also found.
In 2013 the team excavated a second century classical temple, the north-westernmost such temple in the Roman world.
(Excerpt) Read more at culture24.org.uk ...
© Courtesy Senhouse Roman Museum
I didn’t know what to expect, but I thought they might be more ornate.
Maybe they were, but it seems to have been a place for soldiers, so not fancy; also it has been a while since housekeeping was in. ;’)
They look pretty fancy to me, considering the tools that one had to work with.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
