Roman Stone Votive Altar

This small, Roman votive altar was found by workmen digging for gravel deposits in the open fields in and around Kempston during the 19^th century.

The altar, carved from a very hard, fine grained stone, is relatively small in size: 21 cm high by 10 cm wide and 6cm broad, suggesting that to some degree it was intended to be portable. Small altars similar to this in size are often associated with household worship hence the need to be portable.

To many Romans, worshiping gods and goddesses combined with the offering of sacrifices and other rituals was an important part of everyday life. These offerings were often dedicated to a particular god either as a gift or to ask for help in personal issues such as restoring good health, love, wealth or fending off evil.

Altars in temples and public shrines would have been much larger in size and many were elaborately carved and even painted. The rituals and performances practiced here would have been more dramatic …..and may even have even included animal sacrifices.

Household or domestic worship would have been an important routine to ensure the safety and prosperity of the family members. Popular items offered or sacrificed to the gods would have included fruit, cooked foods such as bread, cakes and meat or libations and incense. These would have been placed on the slightly indented top, the focus, of the altar and could either be left whole or set on fire.

Written by Liz Pieksma, Keeper of Archaeology