Thursday, June 28, 2018

NORTHUMBERLAND, ENGLAND—A sold bronze hand has been unearthed in a boggy area near the Roman fort of Vindolanda, located at Hadrian’s Wall, according to a report in The Independent. The five-pound hand is thought to have been ritually buried as a gift to the god Jupiter Dolichenus after the Roman victory over Scotland in A.D. 209–210, when Emperor Septimius Severus led 50,000 troops against the Scottish tribes, who the Romans accused of violating a peace agreement. The battle is remembered for its extreme violence and loss of life. The hand is associated with the military deity, who originated in the Middle East as a Syrian version of Jupiter, the Roman king of the gods. The Roman military is known to have mounted such bronze hands on the top of a pole and used it to bestow blessings. In fact, a temple dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus within the fort at Vindolanda is the only known temple within a fort in the Roman Empire. Andrew Birley, director of the Vindolanda excavations, explained that the hand “is further evidence illustrating how deeply religious [the Roman soldiers] were and how seriously they took their relationship with their god.” For more on the Roman fort at Vindolanda, go to “Life on the Frontier.”