The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath

Cunliffe, Barry

doi:10.1017/s0003598x00032506

Cited by 27 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The nature of the reservoir context can be briefly described. In the pre-Roman period, the spring would have been open to the elements, bubbling up through a sandy fissure in the black mud-like surroundings of the river valley (Cunliffe 1988: 1). The reservoir tank was one of the first structures to be constructed in the Roman period, most likely during the Flavian era.…”

Section: The Setting: the Reservoir At The King's Springmentioning

confidence: 99%

Votive Objects and Ritual Practice at the King’s Spring at Bath

Cousins

2014

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal

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Section: The Setting: the Reservoir At The King's Springmentioning

confidence: 99%

Votive Objects and Ritual Practice at the King’s Spring at Bath

Cousins

2014

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal

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“…comm.). At Bath the sacred spring produced another enigmatic Roman o-Celtic tin mask, perforated with nail holes (Cunliffe 1988 ; see Dungworth, thi s volume, for furth er thoughts on the ritual aspects of nails).…”

Section: Rilual Pits/wells the Underworld And The God Merculymentioning

confidence: 99%

Whatever Happened to the Heroes? Ancestral Cults and the Enigma of Romano-Celtic Temples

Forcey

1998

Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal

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Int rodu ct ionIn this paper I wish to re-interpret the nature and ' purpose' of Romano -Celtic temples in first century AD Britain, in the light of fairly widespread indications of elite mortuary use in and around them, and th eir related association with ritua l pits/wells. Such an associatio n is suggestive o f connecti ons to a mythical Underworid: the realm of the dead (the ancestors) and co nc omitantly with th e memory of the pas t. Thi s persuades me to controvert an a-temporal, functionalist classification o f th e phenomenon of R omano-Celtic temples (Rodwe ll 1980 lists twelve ' types') in favo ur o f an historical/genea logical (Dean 1994; Foucault 199 1; Nietzsche 1996Nietzsche [1887 :57-5 8) approach to their interpretation, re lating them to native memories of an 'heroic' past, before the Roman C onquest.The key site, whic h has been the stimulus for my re-interpretation of Romano-Celti c templ es in the earl y Roma n period, is the mortuary encl os ure at Folly Lane, excavated by Rosa lind N ib lett (Denison 1994 :5; N iblett 1992. This encl osure is situated on a hill to the north o f Verulamium overlooking the c ity. In the immed iate post-Ro man Conquest peri od it was the locus of a comple x multi-stage fun erary rit ual ll1vo lving the laying out, cremati o n and deposition of an important individual o f the native eli te (these rites are simil ar to th ose observed at the recently excavated, first century mortuary enc losures at Stanway outside C olchester (Cru llun y 1997 23-27». Some fifty years after the Roman Conq uest (i n the F la vian period), a Romano-Celtic temp le was built within the encl os ure at Foll y Lane, di rec tl y on top of the area where the body was cremated, seemingly as an act of co mmemoration . Though it is tempting to suggest that such a temple is in fact a mauso leum whic h have been miscJass ified , the evide nce of archaeology (see below) suggests that religious and mortuary use of R o manoCeltic temples was not mutual ly excl usive and that it is our classificatory system itself which is at fault.

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“…Dark writes: The Roman walled site at Bath (Aquae Sulis) has, understandably, attracted much modern archaeological attention. 68 It is well known that the walled area contains the largest Classical temple-and-baths complex known from Roman Britain. Within the enclosed area there are also several mosaics, rare in 'small towns', lesser baths, and some evidence of domestic buildings and craft-activity.…”

Section: Go Lisle Road Colchestermentioning

confidence: 99%

A Reconsideration of Gelligaer

Black

1993

Britannia

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unravel all the complexities of the surface features of the area, with little enough dating-material, doubtless, to help. It is a commonplace of archaeology that rich sites (such as the huge opencasts at Dolaucothi prove this to have been) present the student with palimpsests of multi-period working; with so little certainty as to the date of large areas of this mine, it would be hazardous in the extreme to claim otherwise, and maintain that the surface morphology preserves a Roman landscape tout court. There certainly was Roman mining at Dolaucothi, and from an early date, as indicated by the dewateringwheel; and perhaps it continued until the fourth century in some form or other. Beyond that, prudence compels silence until much more has been done. 38 Penarth (G.C.B.) Newent (D.B.) G.D.B. Jones and K. Maude reply: Our 1991 note under discussion here was published to bring views of the admittedly complex mining development around Dolaucothi into better focus by noting two C14 dates of relevance. One of the above authors (GCB) first percipiently linked the Dolaucothi complex with Ptolemy's Aouevxivov (Luentinum, Luentium) (Geog. xi 2.13) because of its reference to the hydraulicing and washing of gold bearing deposits; but conversely later argued that the aqueduct systems were not of Roman origin. 39 The early Roman date of the water-raising wheel in the National Museum of Wales makes it clear that the development of the underground workings took place in the Roman period as the last and most difficult phase of the development of the main opencast. All mining operations are dependent on abundant water supplies for hushing and processing, hence the existence of the Cothi aqueduct. The other author (DB) denied the antiquity of the 'Annell' aqueduct system, while usefully locating its source some 1.5 km further northeast up the 'Gwenlas teat'. 40 The main purposes of our 1991 note was to publish the two related C14 dates that demonstrate unequivocally that the Annell aqueduct channel at GR.SN 705 426 was in fact already infilled by ad 865120 at the latest (Grn-16553), a point of significance quickly noted by Manning. 41 This significant demonstration of the relative antiquity of the Annell leat is nowhere acknowledged in the above note, and that negates the core of the view proposed. University of Manchester A Reconsideration of Gelligaer. E.W. Black writes: The Roman fort at Gelligaer was excavated from 1899 to 1901 and a complete plan of the internal buildings was made. 42 Further excavations examined the military bath-house and other buildings in a walled annexe. 43 The completeness of the plan (FIG. 5) has meant that Gelligaer has featured in discussions concerning the possibility of identifying the type of unit in garrison from the size of forts and the plan of their internal buildings. 44 However, although fragments of building 38 The reference in Britannia xxii (1991), 210 to 'a satellite industry carving cornelian gemstones' cannot be left as it is. There is a single intaglio from Dolaucothi, a ring-stone in ...

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The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath

Cited by 27 publications

References 2 publications

Votive Objects and Ritual Practice at the King’s Spring at Bath

Votive Objects and Ritual Practice at the King’s Spring at Bath

Whatever Happened to the Heroes? Ancestral Cults and the Enigma of Romano-Celtic Temples

A Reconsideration of Gelligaer

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