Images

Roman society was literate, and like other literate societies, it liked to mark events and honor achievements with memorial stones or commemorative slabs. This commomerative slab fragment might have been originally painted for extra-decoration...

Roman stonemasons made altars and other monumental masonry as well as other buildings. This altar is dedicated to the Roman emperor by army units and shows the skill of the masons in both lettering and decoration. From Birrens, Scotland...

These combs were made of whalebone. What makes whalebone particularly useful is not only is it strong, dense, and resilient, but it can also be used to produce objects of very large sizes. This collection of weaving combs is from Gurness...

This carved slab (also known as the Bridgeness slab) commemorates building the most eastern part of the Antonine wall, which cut Scotland into two. Its grand inscription records the army's dedication of the building work to their emperor...

Diana was goddess o hunt, moon, and childbirth. She was one of the three maiden goddesses; Diana, Minerva and Vesta. They swore never to get married. The outer surface of this bowl was decorated with Diana with bow and pray, and Victory holding...

A 19th century CE print of the Hindu goddess Saraswati (Sarasvati) by Raja Ravi Varma. She is depicted with the classical Indian instrument the vina and a peacock, one of her vehicles. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

A granite statue of the Hindu goddess Saraswati (Sarasvati) from the Brihadeshwara temple, Gangaikondacholapuram, Tamil Nadu, India. c. 1025 CE.

Neptune was god of the oceans, freshwater, and seas (he was the counterpart of the Greek god Posiedon). The outer surface of this bowl was decorated with Neptune and a merman on his left and dolphin and Jupiter to his right. From Inveresk...

Roman soldiers, when they came to Scotland, brought their own gods and goddesses from their local areas. Exotic cults were easily adopted too, such as that developed to Jupiter Dolichenus (a mixture of Roman Jupiter and a Syrian sky god...

This small boar was an offering to a god. Offerings were made on the hollow on the top of an altar (wine was often poured onto the altar). The idea of a contract between human beings and gods was central to Roman religious practice. From...