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Altar to Minerva.

Contributed by Dumfries Museum

Minerva was the Roman Goddess of invention and intelligence. This altar was erected by the orderly room clerks of the second Cohort of Tungrians by order of their commanding officer, Caius Silvius Auspex.
The altar was dug up from a field in 1810 and used as a garden ornament for decades.
Many aspects of everyday life had a god or goddess whom the Romans believed could influence events. Many of the gods of the Roman world were borrowed from ancient Greece. Unlike the Greeks who regarded their gods with familiarity, like humans only different, the Romans respected and feared their gods. They made offerings to protect themselves from their gods' anger.

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About this object

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Location

Birrens Fort, near Ecclefechan

Culture
Period

157 = 158 AD

Theme
Size
H:
1240cm
W:
430cm
D:
305cm
Colour
Material

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