Lamyatt Beacon
Lamyatt Beacon is a double hill in what is now England . It is located in Somerset at the southern end of the Mendip Hills , next to the village of Lamyatt , around 20 kilometers south of the city of Bath . During excavations on the southern hill, the remains of a Gallo-Roman temple and a Saxon cemetery were found.
The temple was built in two phases. The first construction dates from the late 3rd century AD. The temple consisted of the cella , the holy of holies, which was perhaps two stories high. This cella was surrounded by a gallery. In the south there was a staircase to an underground room. At the front there were two shrines belonging to the second phase of construction.
The god worshiped here was likely either Mars or the local god Cernunnos , although many small bronze figures of other deities were also found in the excavations in the 1970s. There were also numerous offerings, such as jewelry, but also miniature weapons. The temple was likely abandoned shortly before AD 400.
Around 600 a small cemetery was laid out next to the temple. During the excavations, 16 burials were recorded that were made in the manner of the Anglo-Saxons .
literature
- Peter Leach: Roman Somerset. Dovecote Press, Wimborne 2001, ISBN 1-874336-93-8 , pp. 98-100.
Web links
Coordinates: 51 ° 7 ′ 25.8 " N , 2 ° 28 ′ 25.4" W.