Maesama
Maesama was a female, Celtic or Gallo-Roman deity. It is only known through the Roman dedicatory inscription on an altar stone as thanks for the deity from Walheim .
The consecration altar, which revealed the name of the deity Maesama, is carved out of yellow sandstone and was discovered in 2009 in Walheim ( Baden-Württemberg ) in a heap of rubble.
" Maesamae / [sa] c (rum) Terentius / [Ma] rcellus pr [o] / Nigrina pro / [T] erentio Sep / timino fili (o) / et suis / v (otum) s (olvit) l (ibens ) l (aetus) m (erito) "
“The Maesama (who has consecrated this altar): Terentius Marcellus for Nicrina and for the son Terentius Septiminus and his family. He has thus fulfilled his vow happily, joyfully and according to due. "
The altar stone is dated to the Severan dynasty , that is, to the late 2nd century AD.
The deity Maesama is associated with the cults around the matrons ( Matronae ), which were widespread in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire .
literature
- Marcus G. Meyer, Ingo Stork: Hidden under stones. A new Roman altar from Walheim, Ludwigsburg district. In: Preservation of monuments in Baden-Württemberg. Volume 39, 2010, pp. 190-191 ( online ).
- »Maesama« - a native goddess . In: Archeology in Germany 5/2010, p. 40.
Web links
- Side of the Roman house in Walheim to the Maesama consecration inscription
- Depiction of the stone in 'Zabern's news from archeology and history'