Category: Roman Army
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A Sunken Shield
The River Tyne was an important access point for Roman ships, bringing supplies and soldiers for the forts along Hadrian’s Wall. We’ve already seen some of the intriguing objects pulled from its watery depths, like the altars to Neptune and Oceanus. But what else has been discovered lurking beneath the surface? Our object today is…
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Mysterious Mithras
The many ancient gods and goddesses are one of the most interesting parts of Roman life! We’ve already seen examples of the Romans bringing their own gods to Britannia (Neptune and Oceanus), as well as what happens when the Romans decide to adopt a local British god like Brigantia, or Antenociticus. But do they ever…
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Ancient Stories: Regina
Did you discover any useful clues on the famous tombstone in our last post? Let’s take a closer look at Regina together, and see what we can find out. Let’s start with the inscription. Regina is particularly special as her tombstone is bilingual: this means it has a message written in two different languages: The…
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Fortune on the Frontier
It wasn’t just the Olympian gods who came along when the Romans arrived in Britannia! The Romans had lots of gods and goddesses – and they were each in charge of different things. We’ve met Oceanus and Neptune already, useful gods to have on your side as you make dangerous journeys by sea and build…
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Ancient Stories: Antenociticus
Let’s take a closer look at the first of two altars found dedicated to our special Tyneside Romano-British god: Antenociticus! You can see this inscription has lots more information than any of the altars we’ve looked at so far – so what does it tell us? This altar uses some new abbreviations we haven’t encountered…
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Ancient Stories: Antenociticus
Did you know there is a very special Roman god found only in Newcastle? Back in the 19th century, a small temple was discovered in Benwell, an area in the west of the city. Three stone altars were also excavated, along with the head and arm of a statue. The inscriptions on these altars tell…
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Ancient Stories: Brigantia
Let’s take a closer look at the message left for Brigantia, our Romano-British goddess in the North! In our last entry we gave you another challenge: transcribing the message left on an altar from Arbeia. Did you identify all the letters? Recording the inscription is an important step before translating it – it helps us…
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Ancient Stories: Brigantia
Did you know the Romans liked to borrow gods and goddesses from other cultures? This week, we’re looking at some Romano-British gods and goddesses. These interesting figures were a blend of Roman mythology and Celtic mythology, resulting in new and unique deities at the northernmost point of the Roman Empire. This process of blending two…
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Ancient Stories: Oceanus Answer Key
Salve! (Hello!) In our last post, we set you a challenge – decoding the message on the second Roman altar which was fished out of the River Tyne. Let’s see how you have fared with your first foray into reading Latin inscriptions! This short video looks at who this altar was for, and why it…
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Ancient Stories: Neptune & Oceanus
For our first week celebrating the North East Festival of Languages, we are exploring the gods and goddesses brought to Britannia (Britain) by the Romans. Over 100 years ago when the Victorians were building a new bridge across the River Tyne, they found a very watery Roman surprise: two altars. An altar is a special…
Romans on the Tyne 