Tag: Roman History
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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 