Newly published inscriptions provide evidence for the 'supraregional appeal of curative springs' & continuity in places of pilgrimage from pagan antiquity into the Christian period - inc. at Luxeil & Aachen - argues Martin Grunewald in this new (to me) article. Image of Sanxay by JC Golvin.
That child naming ceremony is a real bop
Haunting spot none the less, especially in winter. The Roman material sticks out like a sore thumb and the ferns seems to grow better on that compared to the medieval material
The still-standing temples of Roman Gaul:
There should be at least four. Tour de Vésone in Périgueux and Tour de Grisset in Fréteval, as well.
That should say *cellas, but I guess fellas will do
I didn't realise there were *two* still standing Romano Celtic fellas, I was only aware of the Temple de Janus in Autun
We've got a Green council leader in Maidstone now (the biggest town in the county), I take that as a good sign for things to come
A Latin inscription carved on a gritstone tablet and painted with red text. The translation reads “To the holy god Serapis, Claudius Hieronymianus, legate of the Sixth Legion, Victorious, built this temple from the ground".
An inscription from a temple to Serapis in York, possibly built during the stay of the emperor Septimius Severus and family c.208-211 CE. The northern-most attested temple to an Egyptian god, the York temple may have also housed shrines to Isis, Harpocrates and Anubis. 🏺 #AncientBluesky #Egyptology
After many years, I made it to the temple of Nodens at Lydney! It’s rather astonishing that a site that is perhaps the most important temple in Roman Britain after Bath and Colchester is not a major tourist attraction in the care of the nation
Very lucky, it's only open for a short period every year! It's never lined up with my visits to that part of the country
Today - all being well - I’ll be visiting the temple complex at Lydney. A place I’ve written a lot about, but never actually visited. I feel the same level of excitement as a normal person might feel at the prospect of seeing the Parthenon or the Great Pyramid.
St Tigernach’s tomb.
Apr 4: Feast of Tigernach (†c.549), abbot and bishop of Cluain Eois (Clones, Ireland). He studied at Ninian’s monastery of Candida Casa, ‘White House’, (Whithorn, Galloway), and was remembered at some churches in Scotland. St Tigernach’s tomb 📸HughPatrick23
A Roman altar - a carved and inscribed pillar - set against a black background. The altar has been lit by a projection of bright colours to suggest what it might have looked like once
I visited the lovely little Dumfries Museum last year and saw this - what an altar to the goddess Minerva would have looked like
A view facing where the temple stood as it is today, and Pegler's Tump which is just in the field on the opposite of the modern and roman road.
Having unwillingly learned more about the church of england over the years, I am forced to reckon with the fact that antiquarian, reverend, druid enthusiast, and my personal historic blorbo William Stukeley signing his letters off as 'Arch Druid Chynodonax' is actually peak CoE behaviour.
Photograph by Museum of Antiquities of a Roman altar (RIB 3285), one side has an inscription to Minerva, another a handled jug, a third a long handled patera like in the original post
For day-to-day use? Or for sacrifices? Or both? Handled paterae appear on quite a few altars alongside knives and jugs, I can find a number of good examples just browsing the RIB; 1079, 1124, 3285, 1684, 1081, and probably many more...
Because I'm a fool who takes on too much, I'm speaking at this exciting day conference on digital approaches to sacred space in RB, the day before RAC2026 starts. Great programme, to be fully announced soon. Organised by Maxime Guénette , Gabriel Bodard & John Pearce
ics.sas.ac.uk/news-events/...
Moments like these are why I think we need to reinstitute a college of augurs.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
This will be useful for learning who owns/is responsible for historic sites and land that has suspected archaeology on it
Happily back to doing some Wikipedia article creations for the Women's Classical Committee UK and the Women in Red #1day1woman project.
Two northern Romano-British ladies, Julia Velva and Regina, welcome to Wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_V...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regina_...
🏺
I'd be interested to see what people recommend, I've been reading him recently and it's striking how much he seems like a standard middle Platonist, except he hates the theatre, daemons, and preserves worship for the Demiurge. He does however maintain the Gods explicitly as Angels!
For #MosaicMonday here’s a modern mosaic representation on the site of the Folly Lane temple in Verulamium (St. Albans), a Romano British temple built respecting the earlier burial of a Celtic chieftain. Photo by my co-curator Sara
#StAlbansmuseums
#ReligioninVerulamium
🏛 University of Glasgow researchers have made an unprecedented discovery of golden paint on a Roman altar.
🎨 The altar, found near Hadrian’s Wall, was part of a Mithraic temple, a mystery cult associated with light and dark popular with soldiers.
🖌 Read on! historyhit.substack.com/p/monday-23r...
A view of Stonehenge looking a little giant-like. Personal photo, July 2023.
In her poem 'Salisbury Plains' (1826), Ann Radcliffe invents a new myth for Stonehenge. A Druid removes the teeth of an evil wizard and casts them in a circle on Salisbury Plain, but they turn into giants! Through his magic, the Druid freezes them in place where they stand today. #MythologyMonday
Although it was built almost 300 years earlier (around 262), the temple at Pagans Hill, Somerset has a very similar layout and dimensions to the Basilica of San Vitale. Both are octagonal, east facing, an outer ambulatory with vaulted ceilings, and and inner cella defined by arched piers.
A Late Roman graffito from Bishop’s Stortford has revealed a personal name, LOVERNICCA. It has been identified by Roger Tomlin as a Celtic woman’s name containing the name-element louerno, meaning fox. A small mark that bring a real life back into focus - Vixen of Bishop’s Stortford.
#FindsFriday
Carving of the sun god Sol that would have been illuminated from behind so that in the low light of the temple, worshippers would have seen his eyes, mouth and the rays of his solar crown glowing.
Carving of the sun god Sol that would have been illuminated from behind so that in the low light of the temple, worshippers would have seen his eyes, mouth and the rays of his solar crown glowing.
Beautifully dramatic lighting effect in this altar depicting the god Sol found near Edinburgh. In the low light of the temple, worshippers would see Sol’s eyes, mouth and the rays of his solar crown glowing.
www.independent.co.uk/news/science...
Only just realised this is from Jan 2025 not 2026, I wonder what happened in the end
Also, are the developers obliged to have an initial investigation done in this case? Will some one be out there checking what's about to be destroyed before anything is built?