Ancient Cult Room? Excavations Reveal 1,800-year-old Roman Altar Beneath Leicester Cathedral

Archaeological excavations have unearthed a cellar and a 1,800-year-old altar stone beneath the grounds of Leicester Cathedral.

Excavations of Leicester Cathedral

The Daily Mail reports that the excavations at the site started in October 2021 and have generated remarkable findings since then. The excavations were directed by the University of Leicester Archaeological Services.

UK Daily News states that, according to the scientists, Leicester is among the most excavated cities in Britain. There is also much known about the Ratae Corieltauvorum, an ancient Roman city that went before Leicester

The recent excavation enabled the specialists to look into the cathedral's foundation history, dating back to the Victorian period through the Middle Ages, Saxon era, and Roman periods.

Throughout the excavation project, they were also able to find over 1,100 burials from the 1100s to the mid-1900s. They mentioned that, when the project is finished, the Leicester Cathedral will rebury the remains.

Moreover, over 900 years ago, the Normals constructed a structure in the area of present-day Leicester Cathedral. However, the Guardian reports that the legend has long held that the site has been a place of worship back when the Romans occupied Britain. These recent archaeological findings suggest that there may be truth in this legend.

Ancient Cult Room?

The uncovered altar stone within a cellar room are likely remnants of an ancient cult room or private shrine.

Mathew Morris, who served as the leader of the excavation, expressed that the Roman altar findings were quite amazing. It is also the first to be spotted in Leicester.

He mentions that, for over centuries, it has been thought that a Roman temple used to stand on the cathedral site. The folktale was widely accepted during the latter parts of the 19th century when a Roman building was found as the church tower was being rebuilt.

The team who conducted the excavations discovered proof of a partially subterranean chamber that may have been too decorated to be a simple storage cellar. Inside it was the altar stone's base. It lay down broken and facing the ground.

Considering the spotted altar and the subterranean structure that had painted walls, one way to interpret things was that it may have been a place of worship. Morris says that it may have been a private worship place, be it a private shrine or a cult room, where some individuals gathered together to worship privately.

Morris notes that underground chambers, like the one they have spotted, have been linked several times to mysterious and fertility-related cultic practices and worship of deities like Cybele, Bacchus, Mithras, Isis, and Dionysius. To the researchers' dismay, no inscription could be found in the altar stone. However, it may have been the main area for offerings and sacrifices and a key player in ancient religious ceremonies.

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