Romano-Celtic temple

In Great Britain, the term Romano-British temple is often used for these temples, and Gallo-Roman temple for sites in Gaul.

In French, Spanish, and German scholarship, the term fanum is used to refer to Celtic temples of the Roman empire. This term was borrowed by archeologists from the Latin word for the sacred plot of land on which a temple was built.

The Gaulish term for these temples was nemeton, which originally signifed a sacred grove. This term was used to refer to Celtic temples until the Christianization of Gaul.[2]

Reconstruction of a Romano-Celtic temple in Aubechies, Belgium

The layout of Romano-Celtic temples differed from classical Roman temples. While classical temples were usually rectangular buildings with a portico, the Romano-Celtic temple was usually square or octagonal, with an ambulatory.[3] This is believed to have been influenced by earlier Celtic wooden temples, many sites showing continuity in their layout.[4][3] The ambulatory was probably meant to accommodate a Celtic rite of circumambulation.[4] Many temples were built on earlier sacred sites. While almost all classical temples were built at towns and cities, almost all 650 Romano-Celtic temples were built in the countryside or smaller settlements.[3]

Plan of the Romano-Celtic temple with its sacred enclosure in Colonia Ulpia Traiana (Xanten)

It consisted of a box-like or tower-like main room (cella), of variable height, surrounded by an ambulatory or veranda[5] built from stone, wood or both.[1] While usually square or octagonal, circular and triangular layouts are also known.[6] In size they vary greatly, with the outer ambulatory ranging from 8.5m to 22m in length[7] and the cella from 5.1m to 16m.[7] The cella, accessible from a door on one side, was usually roofed, as was the ambulatory, though the cella tower may rise above the height of the surrounding ambulatory or be pitched so that the two join together.[6] Ambulatories may be open or be enclosed by a short wall or wall-and-colonnade.[6] Some features of Classical Roman temples are included in the architecture, such as Roman-style columns as part of the outer wall.[8]

The internal features included mosaic floors[9] and decorative wall paintings.[5]

The main temple building usually stood within a sacred enclosure (temenos) along with other religious structures, which was usually marked off by a wall, palisade and ditch.[4]

Reconstruction of a small Romano-Celtic temple at Schwarzenacker Roman Museum, Germany

Temples, as centres of religious ceremonies and festivals, may have attracted people from surrounding areas.[10] Each temple would be dedicated to one or more gods, with a statue in the cella. Votive offerings such as coins, pottery,[11] statues, miniature votive figurines[12] can be found both within the building and in the surrounding ambulatory[13] and temenos, suggesting that access may be available throughout the structure and that the external architectural components also serve a purpose within the ritual environment of the temple. The temple at Woodeaton produced evidence for multiple hearths within the temple superstructure,[14] suggesting the use of fire within the religious worship at that site.

A priest would perform religious ceremonies within the temple or outside in the enclosure, although the exact daily role they played in Romano-Celtic temples is not well understood. Performing sacrifice, prayers, and overseeing festivals are key features of priesthoods in the Roman Empire. In Aquae Sulis (modern Bath, England), an altar was dedicated by a haruspex;[15] this religious position may have been utilised elsewhere in Britannia. Fragments of priestly regalia have been found in British excavations: a copper alloy sceptre-cap from the temple at Farley,[16] a chained headpiece or "crown" at Wanborough[15] and a bronze crown with an adjustable band at Hockwold cum Wilton.[15]

Gallo-Roman Temples have been found throughout the region settled by the ancient Gauls, including France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, in both cities and the countryside. These temples would have been closed at the end of the 3rd century by late Roman imperial anti-pagan laws, but in reality many were progressively abandoned during this period, their cults having been neglected or the locality been depopulated.[17]

Many of these temples evolved from pre-Roman temples which were built in wood and then gradually embellished. The sanctuaries of Ribement-sur-Ancre, Corent, Saint-Georges Abbey in Boscherville, are good examples showing how Celtic temples evolved. Excavations conducted by Jacques Le Maho at the site of Saint-Georges Abbey uncovered the remains of many temples: the oldest was a wooden temple without a gallery, then a second temple with a gallery, which was followed by a wooden temple built on a stone platform, and then finally, a stone fanum with gallery.[18]

One of the largest remaining Gallo-Roman temples is the Tower of Vesunna, which was built in Périgueux, France. It was dedicated to the goddess Vesunna of the Perocorii tribe. The architecture represents a synthesis of local and Classical traditions, comprising a Celtic cella and a Roman pronaos surrounded by a low gallery.

• 
  Remains of the Tower of Vesunna
• 
  Reconstruction of the original Temple

Reconstruction drawing of Pagans Hill Romano-Celtic temple.

They are, by far, the most frequently occurring type of temple in Roman Britain[7] in place of the Classical Temple which are few in number: the Temple of Claudius[19] in Colchester, the temple of Sulis-Minerva in Bath and the examples at Maryport, Lincoln, Gloucester, and St.Albans are the only known examples.[8]

Romano-Celtic temples occur across Britannia and are frequently associated with sites with recorded pre-Roman activity, such as at Jordan Hill. Temples may be associated with an extra-mural settlement near a fort, as at Vindolanda, or along a roadside. Prominent places within a landscape may also be chosen as sites for Romano-Celtic temples, for example the temple on top of the huge Iron Age Hillfort at Maiden Castle, Dorset or the temple on the coastal promontory at Brean Down, Somerset. The distribution of these temples covers both major and minor towns and includes rural sanctuaries.[8] In towns they can occur as individual temples or in groups of two or more within an enclosure.[8] At least seven have been identified at Camulodunum (Roman Colchester), several of which can be linked to certain deities by the statues and inscriptions found at the sites.[20]

• 
  Jordan Hill Romano-Celtic Temple
• 
  Romano-Celtic temple at Maiden Castle
• 
  Romano-Celtic temple revealed during excavation at 56 Gresham Street, London

List of Romano-Celtic Temples in Britain

Site name Alternative name(s)	Date	Plan or photo	Location	Dimensions	Dedication	Notes	Reference
Bourton Grounds	2nd - 4th Century AD			Cella: 7.6m2	Isis	Excavated in the 1960s. A Figurine of Isis found by metal detector at a later date.	[21]
Brean Down	4th Century AD					Excavated in 1957-8, the temple was constructed c.AD340 and demolished c.AD390. It lies on a promontory off the Somerset coast.	[22][23]
Caerwent	4th Century AD			Cella: 7.5m x 7m		Built in c.AD330, it stood next to the forum and basilica.	[24]
Chanctonbury	3rd-4th Century AD		50.896258°N 0.38177312°W / 50.896258; -0.38177312 (Chactonbury Ring)	Cella: 9m x 7m		Built on an Iron Age hillfort.	[25]
Farley	1st-4th Century AD		51.193708°N 0.49627427°W / 51.193708; -0.49627427 (Farley Heath Roman Temple)	Cella: 7.3m x 7.3m Ambulatory: 14m x 14m Temenos: Diameter - c. 73m		Excavated in 1848 by Martin Tupper, and later in 1926 and definitively in 1939. Pre-Roman coinage of Verica, Epaticcus and Tincommius has been found on the site during early excavations. The temple is associated with two pottery kilns. Finds include a possible Priest's sceptre, two Roman coin hoards, a swan-head handle and pottery.	[16][26]
Gosbecks Farm	mid 2nd-4th Century AD		51.859450°N 1.0435977°W / 51.859450; -1.0435977 (Gosbecks Farm)	Cella: 7m x 7m	Camulos	Excavated in 1842. The temple temenos stands at the west and of a much larger walled enclosure stretching 340 metres to the east. The off-central location of the temple has been held to imply that a sacred grove or tree occupied the most important position within the temenos One of at least seven found at Roman Colchester.[20]	[27]
Great Chesterford	2nd? - 4th Century AD			Cella: 6.7m x 6.7m		Discovered in 1847 and excavated under the direction of the Hon RC Neville. Two mosaic floors were located in the cella. The temple was re-excavated in 1978.	[28]
Jordan Hill	1st - 4th Century AD		50.637547°N 2.4271160°W / 50.637547; -2.4271160 (Jordan Hill)	Cella: 6.8m2 Temenos: 84m2		First Excavated by J. Medhurst in 1843. The structure is in stone, with minimal evidence of an ambulatory. An early 1st century pit or shaft was associated beneath the temples structure.	[29]
Lancing	Late 1st - Mid 3rd Century AD			Cella: 6.7m x 6.7m
Lullingstone	3rd Century AD		51.3640°N 0.1964°W / 51.3640; -0.1964 (Gosbecks Farm)	Cella: 6.4m x 5.1m	Water Deities
Lydney Park	4th Century AD		51.7207°N 2.5532°W / 51.7207; -2.5532 (Lydney Park Roman Temple)		Nodons	Excavated in the 1920s by Sir Mortimer Wheeler. The site also has evidence for iron ore extraction.
Maiden Castle	4th Century AD		50.694871°N 2.4669376°W / 50.694871; -2.4669376 (Lydney Park Roman Temple)	Cella: 6m x 6m	Minerva?	Built on top of an Iron Age hillfort	[30]
Nettleton	3rd-4th Century AD		51.490763°N 2.2577696°W / 51.490763; -2.2577696 (Nettleton)		Apollo Cunomaglus?		[31]
Pagans Hill	3rd-4th Century AD		51.360732°N 2.6373580°W / 51.360732; -2.6373580 (Pagans Hill Roman Temple)		Mercury?	Excavated by Philip Rahtz in 1949-53. The temple was built in c.AD258 with an octagonal cella, but soon fell into decay. A well is associated with the temple, into which objects were deposited. It was the site of domestic occupation by the 5th Century.	[32][33]
Ratham Mill	1st-2nd Century AD		50.851830°N 0.85212269°W / 50.851830; -0.85212269 (Ratham Mill)	Cella: 4m x 4m Ambulatory: 8.5m x 8.5m Temenos: 15.5m x 15.5m		No excavation; site seen as cropmarks. Roman pottery associated in surrounding area. Outer two walls may not have southern sides. The inner square (here identified as the cella) may, in fact, be an altar or plinth within a larger structure.	[34][35]
Vindolanda	3rd-4th Century AD		54.991481°N 2.3630965°W / 54.991481; -2.3630965 (Vindolanda Temple)	Cella: 5.1m x 5.1m Ambulatory:10.8m x 10.8m			[36]
Wicklewood	1st-4th Century AD		52°35′1.320″N 1°4′51.492″E	Cella: 8.5m x 8.5m		Discovered and excavated in 1959	[37]
Wimblington	2nd-3rd Century AD		52.523846°N 0.13699638°E / 52.523846; 0.13699638 (Wimblington)	Cella: 5.6m x 5m Ambulatory: 11m x 11m	Epona?	Excavated in 1980s, Wimblington temple comprised a stone and timber cella surrounded by a timber enclosure. Cropmarks hint at a larger earthwork surrounding the temple c50m in diameter. Finds associated with the temple site included a clay figurine of a horse (Epona?), while surface finds included various copper alloy items possibly linked to Mercury, Minerva and others.	[38]
Woodeaton	1st-4th Century AD		51.808933°N 1.2236703°W / 51.808933; -1.2236703 (Woodeaton)	Cella: 5.8m x 5m Temenos: 45m2.		Excavated in 1952, the temple was found to have to main phases of use. In the first a clay floor and three internal hearths noted. The later phase is marked by the widening of the walls and the addition of an ambulatory. The site is associated with Iron Age activity.	[11][39]

• Religion in ancient Rome
• Roman Britain
• Roman Gaul
• Gallo-Roman Religion
• Ancient Celtic religion
• Syncretism
• Roman Temple

• Lewis, M.J.T. 1966. Temples in Roman Britain (Cambridge Classical Studies). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
• Mukelroy, K. 1976. "Enclosed Ambulatories in Romano-Celtic Temples in Britain". Britannia Vol.7 pp173–191

• Romano-Celtic Temple Typology