This limestone altar, dedicated to the sea-god Neptune, was found in 1850 in the ruins of a late-Rom
This limestone altar, dedicated to the sea-god Neptune, was found in 1850 in the ruins of a late-Roman fort. It had probably been re-used as a building stone, but before that time it must have been exposed to the sea because it is encrusted with barnacles.It reads: [N]eptu[no] / aram / L(ucius) Aufidius / Pant(h)era / praefect(us) / clas(sis) Brit(annicae), meaning “Lucius Aufidius Panthera, commander of the British fleet (dedicated this) altar to the god Neptune”.The inscription records that the person who set up the altar was Lucius Aufidus Pantera, a high-ranking military officer. From this and another inscription we know that he was praefectus (commander) of the British fleet in AD 133 or soon after, and before that had commanded a large cavalry regiment in Pannonia Superior (modern Hungary).It was, of course, entirely appropriate that a fleet-commander should offer up an altar to Neptune, the god of the waters on which he sailed.2nd century A.D., from Lympne, Kent© Trustees of the British Museum, London -- source link
#history#roman history#roman britain#roman soldier#neptune#altar#limestone#votive#inscription#epigraphy#votive inscription