Rare Altar to Eastern God Emerges at VindolandaSubmitted by Bija Knowles on Fri, 08/07/2009 – 08:55 http://heritage-key.com/blogs/bija-knowles/rare-altar-eastern-god-emerges-vindolanda

According to Andrew Birley, the director of excavations at Vindolanda, major altars like this are very rare finds. He says: ?To discover such a shrine inside the fort is highly unusual. The shrine also has evidence of animal sacrifice and possible religious feasting. It all adds to the excitement of the excavations and is a once in a lifetime experience for most excavators.”

The god Jupiter of Doliche was associated with the Roman god Jupiter, and was worshipped as a cult in what was, from 162 BC, the kingdom of Commagene in the area of modern southern Turkey. However, the god was often worshipped by Roman troops as well, who regarded the him as omnipotent.Jupiter of Doliche actually has his origins as an ancient weather god, known as Hadad to the Semitic peoples of the Middle East and as Teshab to the Hittites. The original cult centre was on a hilltop close to the small town of Doliche (the modern D?l?k in southern Turkey).

Birley has said that the wall was built by Morrocans, Syrians and Africans who were part of the Roman forces occupying Briton. Centurians would sign off on segments of the wall under their charge, many of these stones have been found.