Vindolanda shrine (July 2009)

[sacoharry]

This is a fun discussion for me, being a Vindolanda obsessive. (I run a Web site for Vindolanda volunteers/friends.)

Someone mentioned it being odd to find a shrine outside the fort. Actually, it seems it was standard practice for religious structures to have their homes outside the walls. That's what makes the Vindolanda find so exciting. It's -inside- the fort, built into the ramparts just west of the north gate. To the excavators' knowledge, it is unique. They know of no other Roman fort in Britain (or elsewhere for that matter) that's revealed a pagan religious shrine from the height of the Empire within the walls. (Except of course the Shrine of the Standards found in all principiae.) If someone knows of another for certain, I'd love a cite or Web link.

As for the Christian church, that was built directly on top of the demolished remains of the praetorium. Its timeframe is either the very last gasps of Roman occupation, or early post-Roman activity. Either way, a very different world from the period when the shrine was erected.

- Harry

[PhilusEstilius]

That is so right about the Christian church as compared to the earlier Pagan Shrine, however no matter what the time period we find that religion plays a very important part in every day life no matter what the time.
I think there was also a Saxon type building in the fort at Birdoswald on Hadrians' Wall but then I'm not so sure just what kind of part that played in that period of history, Ithink it was overbuilt on one of the Roman granneries or next to one, maybe worth a look into Harry !!

[mcbishop]

They know of no other Roman fort in Britain (or elsewhere for that matter) that's revealed a pagan religious shrine from the height of the Empire within the walls. (Except of course the Shrine of the Standards found in all principiae.) If someone knows of another for certain, I'd love a cite or Web link.

Well there are parallels, such as the mithraeum and the Temple of the Palmyrene Gods within the military encampment area at Dura-Europos (the famous fresco of the Tribune Terentius coming from the latter). It can be argued that both pre-date the military occupation (all the figures in the mithraeum wear 'Parthian' costume), but the fact that the occupying unit was cohors XX Palmyrenorum and that the people of Palmyra had long aped Parthian dress styles (you only have to see all the reliefs and frescoes at Palmyra to appreciate that), together with a suggested foundation date of AD 168-71 (although Hopkins felt the cult was a Parthian introduction to the site), hint that whilst the TofPG was pre-Roman, the mithraeum itself was a Roman military addition. There is also the whole business of military genii (nicely summed up in a paper by Speidel and Dimitrova-Milceva*) and in particular the altar to the genius armamentarii found 'in a building on the via sagularis along the southern wall' (ibid., 1551). The paper does ride with the assumption that armamentarii were part of the principia (not proven, m'lud), but is worth a read nonetheless.

Mike Bishop

* Speidel, M.P. and Dimitrova-Milceva, A. 'The cult of the genii in the Roman army', Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt II, 16.2, 1541-55

[D B Campbell]

Well there are parallels, such as the mithraeum and the Temple of the Palmyrene Gods within the military encampment area at Dura-Europos ...

Thanks for that, Mike. When I was trying to think of shrines inside military encampments, I could only think of the so-called military enclosures at Corbridge, where there are several apsidal, suspiciously temple-like buildings, at least one of which looks like a plausible Mithraeum.
[attachment=0:3luj45a5]<!-- ia0 Corbridge Military Station.jpg<!-- ia0 [/attachment:3luj45a5]
But I can't think of any examples inside a "regular" fort.

[mcbishop]

When I was trying to think of shrines inside military encampments, I could only think of the so-called military enclosures at Corbridge, where there are several apsidal, suspiciously temple-like buildings, at least one of which looks like a plausible Mithraeum.

You might think that, but I couldn't possibly comment ;-) ) This one at least has been decreed as a schola. I have tried gainsaying the accepted wisdom several times on Corbridge (e.g. the town had no walls, Red House is not a supply base, the depressions under the compounds are ditches) but am generally ignored. All will come out in the hideous mess that will one day be my monograph on the site. Interestingly, that temploid structure actually predates the compound wall, if you go there and look at the relationships in the walls. Nevertheless, it is worth noting.

Mike Bishop

[mcbishop]

Being a moron, I of course missed the most obvious parallel which was the dolichenum at Dura (perhaps understandably as it is not as well-known as the other intra-camp temples and shrines). It was shared with Iuppiter Turmasgades and you can see all of them here. Dated to the early 3rd century.

Mike Bishop

[D B Campbell]

All will come out in the hideous mess that will one day be my monograph on the site.

Now that, as my friend Alan Leslie would say, will be worth queuing for in the rain.

Interestingly, that temploid structure actually predates the compound wall, if you go there and look at the relationships in the walls.

To be honest, it had started drizzling when I took the photo, ... and the foundations of a speculative Mithraeum are definitely not worth getting wet for. Fair weather archaeologist, me. :wink:

P.S. I like your new photos of Dura Europos -- I hadn't noticed them before.

[Caballo]

Another pic here http://www.ospreypublishing.com/blog/pe ... indolanda/ including a nice and very well preserved Roman whetstone.

[D B Campbell]

Another pic here http://www.ospreypublishing.com/blog/pe ... indolanda/ ...

Nice link. I've never looked at the Osprey blogs before. I see that I even get a mention!