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Name: | Roman shrine north-east of Egleton |
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HER Ref: | MLE18796 |
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Parish: | Hambleton, Rutland |
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Grid Reference: | SK 882 080 |
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Map: | Coming soon |
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Monument Types
- BUILDING (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- ENCLOSURE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- SHRINE? (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
Summary
Excavation in 2008 recorded a site (circular stone building and other remains) thought to be a Roman shrine. A large quantity of finds were recovered from the stone building including 200+ coins, part of a bronze figurine (Mars or Minerva?) and a lead curse tablet.
Additional Information
<1> Clarke, J & Carlyle, S, 2010, Rutland Water Habitat Creation, Lagoon B: An Iron Age enclosure and Romano-British shrine near Egleton, Rutland - Assessment report and updated project design (Unpublished document). SLE3200.
Excavation in 2008 recorded a Roman site. Approximately 150m to the south-west of the Iron Age site was a circular stone building, situated near the centre of a rectangular enclosure formed by a number of small gullies. A more substantial enclosure was subsequently built around the stone building and an additional enclosure, containing a small rectangular timber building, was built to the north. The site, interpreted as a Roman shrine, was probably established in the 2nd century AD and continued in use until the late 4th or early 5th century. The remains of a young adult male, who died in his early 30s, was buried in a grave in the centre of the stone building; it probably dates to the 5th or 6th century AD (see MLE18797). Finds recovered include over 200 coins (mid C2nd-late C4th), over 1,500 sherds of pottery, a lead curse tablet, a piece of a bronze bust (part of a Corinthian helmet, possibly Mars or Minerva) and building remains such as red/white painted wall plaster.
Report is in ADS Library: 10.5284/1029968 - http://dx.doi.org/10.5284/1029968
<2> Carlyle, Simon, 2011, Rutland Water Habitat Creation, Lagoon B - An Iron Age enclosure and Romano-British shrine near Egleton, Rutland (Unpublished document). SLE3305.
Excavation in 2008 recorded a Roman site. Approximately 150m to the south-west of the Iron Age site was a circular stone building, situated near the centre of a rectangular enclosure formed by a number of small gullies. A more substantial enclosure was subsequently built around the stone building and an additional enclosure, containing a small rectangular timber building, was built to the north. The site, interpreted as a Roman shrine, was probably established in the 2nd century AD and continued in use until the late 4th or early 5th century. The remains of a young adult male, who died in his early 30s, was buried in a grave in the centre of the stone building; it probably dates to the 5th or 6th century AD (see MLE18797). Finds recovered include over 200 coins (mid C2nd-late C4th), over 1,500 sherds of pottery, a lead curse tablet, a piece of a bronze bust (part of a Corinthian helmet, possibly Mars or Minerva) and building remains such as red/white painted wall plaster.
Report is in ADS Library: 10.5284/1029969 - http://dx.doi.org/10.5284/1029969
<3> Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 2011, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 85, Vol 85 (2011), p256 (Journal). SLE4366.
The excavations were noted in Transactions.
<4> Clough, Tim (ed), 2011, Rutland Record, No. 31, No. 31 (2011), p40 (Journal). SLE5790.
The excavations were also noted in the Rutland Record. "The second site… comprised the remains of a circular stone building, probably a Romano-British shrine. It was constructed in the 2nd century AD and was surrounded by a rectangular enclosure. The building contained over 200 Roman coins, part of a bronze figurine, probably of the goddess Minerva or the god Mars, a lead curse tablet, Roman pottery vessels, and animal bone, some of it articulated. At the end of the 2nd century the enclosure was replaced by a more substantial ditched enclosure and an additional, smaller enclosure, containing a small rectangular timber building, was constructed to the north. The shrine fell out of use towards the end of the 4th or early in the 5th century AD."
<5> Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, 2016, Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 90, Vol 90 (2016), p67-101 (Journal). SLE5392.
Between May and July 2008 Northamptonshire Archaeology excavated two archaeological sites at Rutland Water. Site 2 was a Roman circular stone shrine constructed in the mid-second century AD within a rectangular enclosure. The building was partitioned inside, separating a ritual preparation area on one site from a hearth and votive pits in the central area. The shrine produced 218 coins, the crest from a bronze figurine helmet of the goddess Minerva or the god Mars, a lead curse tablet, pottery vessels and animal bone; all from floor and demolition deposits. At the end of the second century the outer enclosure was refurbished and a smaller enclosure containing a timber building was constructed to the north. The shrine was abandoned in the late fourth or early fifth centuries. Prior to its eventual collapse, the body of an adult male was buried at its core. The shrine was preserved beneath a former medieval headland at the edge of the open fields of Egleton.
The shrine had an internal diameter of 10.5m; the wall foundations were pitched ironstone rubble held fast with clay. Rising from this was a limestone wall. The inner face of this was plastered over and decorated with white and red paint. The shrine had a timber door frame, with a metalled surface immediately outside the doorway. A low rectangular plinth was outside the doorway on the right hand side; the bronze crest from a miniature Corinthian helmet was found lying beside this. The layers preserved within the shrine reveal a fascinating glimpse of Roman ritual practices, involving both animal sacrifice and the deposition of material goods. The shrine lay at the heart of a rectangular plot of land. Initially constructed in the mid-second century AD, it was refurbished in the late second century and continued in use until the fourth.
Sources
<1> | Unpublished document: Clarke, J & Carlyle, S. 2010. Rutland Water Habitat Creation, Lagoon B: An Iron Age enclosure and Romano-British shrine near Egleton, Rutland - Assessment report and updated project design. |
<2> | Unpublished document: Carlyle, Simon. 2011. Rutland Water Habitat Creation, Lagoon B - An Iron Age enclosure and Romano-British shrine near Egleton, Rutland. |
<3> | Journal: Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society. 2011. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 85. Vol 85 (2011), p256. |
<4> | Journal: Clough, Tim (ed). 2011. Rutland Record, No. 31. No. 31 (2011), p40. |
<5> | Journal: Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society. 2016. Transactions of the Leicestershire Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume 90. Vol 90 (2016), p67-101. |
Associated Finds
- ARMLET (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- COSMETIC SET (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- CURSE TABLET (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- FIGURINE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- FINGER RING (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- GAMING PIECE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- HAIR PIN? (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- HINGE (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
- KNIFE (Roman - 43 AD? to 409 AD?)
- NAIL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- PLANT REMAINS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- SHERD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- SHERD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- SPEARHEAD (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- SPINDLE WHORL (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- TILE (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- VERTEBRATE REMAINS (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- WALL PLASTER (Roman - 43 AD to 409 AD)
- COIN (Early Roman to Late Roman - 138 AD to 400 AD)
- COIN (Early Roman - 193 AD to 211 AD)
Designations
Associated Images
Search results generated by the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd.