| Statue of Mars | |
|---|---|
 The Statue of Mars in the Yorkshire Museum | |
| Material | Sandstone |
| Created | c.4th century |
| Period/culture | Roman |
| Discovered | 1880 Bar Convent, York, North Yorkshire |
| Present location | Roman Gallery, Yorkshire Museum, York |
| Identification | YORYM: 1998.26 |
The Statue of Mars, York is a Roman stone statue depicting the God Mars, found in York in 1880 and now in the Yorkshire Museum. [1]
The statue was discovered in 1880 on or beneath Bar Convent, York along with three religious altars. It was donated to the Yorkshire Museum (then the Yorkshire Philosophical Society) by the Mother Superior. [2] The altars were dedicated to Mars, [3] the Mother Goddesses, [4] and Veteris respectively. [5] It was carved "with great dexterity" from local sandstone and may originally have come from the fortress at Eboracum . [6]
The statue stands to a height of 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m), though it is missing the feet from below the ankle and any plinth it may have originally stood on. Mars is depicted as a youthful soldier, wearing a Greek helmet and bearing a large oval shield held in his left arm. He is wearing a cuirass with elaborate lappets beneath and at the sleeves over a tunic. He has a sword strapped on his left side. His right arm is extended but the hand is missing; this probably held a spear originally. [1]
The Statue was first put on display in 1881, in the Hospitium in the York Museum Gardens. [2] It has featured prominently in the Yorkshire Museum's exhibitions ever since.
In the 1980s the statue was on display as part of an exhibition titled "Roman Life at the Yorkshire Museum". [7]
In 2010 the Yorkshire Museum reopened after a twelve-month closure for redevelopment. The new exhibition, "Roman York - Meet the People of the Empire" features the statue as a central piece of the display and is situated at the entrance into the main hall of the museum. [8] [9]
Erecura or Aerecura was a goddess worshipped in ancient times, often thought to be Celtic in origin, mostly represented with the attributes of Proserpina and associated with the Roman underworld god Dis Pater, as on an altar from Sulzbach. She appears with Dis Pater in a statue found at Oberseebach, Switzerland, and in several magical texts from Austria, once in the company of Cerberus and once probably with Ogmios. A further inscription to her has been found near Stuttgart, Germany. Besides her chthonic symbols, she is often depicted with such attributes of fertility as the cornucopia and apple baskets. She is believed to be similar to Greek Hecate, while the two goddesses share similar names. She is depicted in a seated posture, wearing a full robe and bearing trays or baskets of fruit, in depictions from Cannstatt and Sulzbach. Miranda Green calls Aericura a "Gaulish Hecuba", while Noémie Beck characterizes her as a "land-goddess" sharing both underworld and fertility aspects with Dis Pater.
Condatis was an ancient Celtic deity worshipped primarily in northern Britain but also in Gaul. He was associated with the confluences of rivers, in particular within County Durham in the North of England. Condatis is known from several inscriptions in Britain and a single inscription found at Alonnes, Sarthe, France. In each case he is equated with the Roman god Mars.
In Romano-British culture and Germanic polytheism, the Alaisiagae were a quartet of Celtic and Germanic goddesses deifying victory.
In the localised Celtic polytheism practised in Great Britain, Sulis was a deity worshiped at the thermal spring of Bath. She was worshiped by the Romano-British as Sulis Minerva, whose votive objects and inscribed lead tablets suggest that she was conceived of both as a nourishing, life-giving mother goddess and as an effective agent of curses wished by her votaries.
Eboracum was a fort and later a city in the Roman province of Britannia. In its prime it was the largest town in northern Britain and a provincial capital. The site remained occupied after the decline of the Western Roman Empire and ultimately developed into the present-day city of York, in North Yorkshire, England.
Veteris was a Celtic god attested from many inscriptions in Roman Britain. The dedicants were usually private individuals and were exclusively male. During the 3rd Century AD the cult was particularly popular among the ranks of the Roman army.
Brigantia or Brigindo was a goddess in Celtic religion of Late Antiquity.
The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy.
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Mars was the god of war and also an agricultural guardian, a combination characteristic of early Rome. He was the son of Jupiter and Juno, and was pre-eminent among the Roman army's military gods. Most of his festivals were held in March, the month named for him, and in October, the months which traditionally began and ended the season for both military campaigning and farming.
Cramond Roman Fort is a Roman-Era archaeological site at Cramond, Edinburgh, Scotland. The settlement may be the "Rumabo" listed in the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography.
Derventio, sometimes described as Derventio Brigantium in order to distinguish it from other places called Derventio, was a Roman fort and settlement located beneath the modern town of Malton in North Yorkshire, England. The fort is positioned 18 miles north-east of Eboracum on the River Derwent.
Elizabeth Grayson Hartley, was an American archaeologist and curator. She spent most of her career as the Keeper of Archaeology at the Yorkshire Museum in York.
Bar Hill Fort was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It was built around the year 142 A.D.. Older maps and documents sometimes spell the name as Barr Hill. A computer generated fly around for the site has been produced. Lidar scans have been done along the length of the wall including Bar Hill. Sir George Macdonald wrote about the excavation of the site. Many other artefacts have also been found at Shirva, about a mile away on the other side of Twechar.
Croy Hill was a Roman fort, fortlet, and probable temporary camp on the Antonine Wall, near Croy, to the north east of the village in Scotland. Two communication platforms known as ‘expansions’ can be seen to the west of the fortlet. Alexander Park excavated the site in 1890-1891. Sir George Macdonald wrote about his excavation of the site which occurred in 1920, 1931, and 1935. At Croy Hill, the ditch in front of the rampart was not excavated by the Romans. It is likely that hard basalt and dolerite of the hill was virtually impossible to shape with Roman tools. This is the only place along the Wall where the ditch wasn't dug. There is a bath house just outside one fort. A video reconstruction of the site has been produced.
Auchendavy was a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. Much of the site archeology was destroyed by the builders of the Forth and Clyde Canal. Between Bar Hill and Balmuildy the wall roughly follows the southern bank of the River Kelvin. The site of the fort is north of Kirkintilloch's northern border. It can be seen as a mound mid-way between the Forth and Clyde Canal and the road.
Mumrills was the site of the largest Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It is possible that Mumrills could exchange signals with Flavian Gask Ridge forts. Some believe Mumrills may have been the site of Wallace's defeat at the Battle of Falkirk. The farm at Mumrills was also used as an early site for the Falkirk Relief Church.
Balmuildy is the site of a Roman fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland. It is one of only two forts on the Antonine Wall to have been found with stone ramparts; the other is Castlecary. A digital reconstruction of the fort has been created.
The Head of Constantine the Great, York is the only surviving fragment of larger, marble statue of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great. It was found in Stonegate, York, before 1823, and is now in the Yorkshire Museum.
The Ivory Bangle Lady is a skeleton found in Sycamore Terrace, York in 1901. She was a high-status adult female, potentially of North African descent, who died in York in the 4th century AD. Her skeleton was found with bracelets, pendants, earrings, beads as well as a glass jug and mirror. She appears to have originally been from North Africa. A piece of bone inscribed with the words, "Hail, sister may you live in God" was found with her skeleton.
Virosidum was a Roman fort and settlement situated near to the modern town of Bainbridge, North Yorkshire, England. The site is a Scheduled monument.