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Relief of Protective Deity Uncovered at Vindolanda

HEXHAM, ENGLAND—La Brújula Verde reports that a sculpture was excavated at Vindolanda, a Roman fort

A protective deity relief at a Roman frontier fort touches on how apotropaic religious structures were deployed at the edges of empire — part of the recurring pattern of ritual boundary-marking that appears across otherwise unconnected cultures.
Relief of Protective Deity Uncovered at Vindolanda
Source: https://archaeology.org/news/2026/07/15/relief-of-protective-deity-uncovered-at-vindolanda/

Stone relief depicting a protective deity, Vindolanda, England

HEXHAM, ENGLAND—La Brújula Verde reports that a sculpture was excavated at Vindolanda, a Roman fort near Hadrian’s Wall in northern England, by archaeologist Andrew Birley, Vindolanda’s excavation director. The carving represents a Roman genius, or protective deity, that had been buried beneath the floor of a barracks when it was built in the fourth century A.D. to ensure the safety, prosperity, and good fortune of the occupants. This genius is shown holding a cornucopia, a symbol of abundance and fertility, in one hand. The other hand holds a patera, or shallow plate used in ritual ceremonies to hold libations and offerings. Birley and his colleagues think the sculpture was carved locally. To read more about Vindolanda, go to "The Wall at the End of the Empire: Life on the Frontier."

The post Relief of Protective Deity Uncovered at Vindolanda appeared first on Archaeology Magazine.

Original author: Jessica Esther Saraceni

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