Roman temple dig to restart in Maryport

The Senhouse Roman Museum will begin its third summer of excavation next month on the site next to the Roman fort.

Excavations on site at Maryport set to resume this summer [Credit: Newcastle University]

The museum is working in collaboration with the University of Newcastle and the Camp Farm landowners Hadrian’s Wall Trust and from June 10, Professor Ian Haynes from the university and Tony Wilmott of English Heritage will return to direct the excavation.

Volunteers are also been called upon to work alongside students from the university.

The aim of the excavation is to re-examine a building first excavated in 1880 by local bank manager and amateur archaeologist Joseph Robinson. Robinson believed he had discovered a previously unknown Roman temple possibly dedicated to Jupiter. Several altars were also found next to the building.

But Robinson’s photographic records showed that he did not clearly excavate the building.

Professor Haynes said: “The Maryport altars have been at the centre of international debate about the nature of religion in the Roman army for decades. This project represents a marvellous opportunity.”

The excavation is part of the Senhouse Museum’s long-term research into the site at Maryport, which is considered to be one of the most significant for Romano-British archaeology because of the collection of altars and inscriptions it has yielded.

These objects, now housed in the museum, form the oldest private collection in the country, begun in the 1570s by the Senhouse family.

Any finds from the excavation – which will run for around six weeks – will be included in the museum’s collections and will join finds discovered previously by Joseph Robinson.

Local schools will get the chance to visit the excavation site and museum and there will also be site tours for the public led by volunteer guides, as well as an open day.

Author: Jenny Barwise | Source: News & Star [May 16, 2013]