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CIMRM 839, 840, 841, 842, 843 - The Rudchester altars, Hadrian's Wall, Britain

CIMRM 839 (RIB 1398)

CIMRM 841 (RIB 1395) (Drawing is erroneous)

CIMRM 842 (RIB 1396)

CIMRM 843 (RIB 1397) ¹

The PLV site gives the inscriptions as follows, which are more up-to-date than the CIMRM:

CIMRM 839-840: RIB 1398: Deo / L(ucius) Sentius / Castus / (centurio) leg(ionis) VI d(ono) p(osuit) ("For the god, Lucius Sentius Castus, centurion of the Sixth Legion set this up as a gift"). Altar found 1844 in the mithraeum at Rudchester. Source: RIB I p.456
CIMRM 841: RIB 1395: Deo Invicto / Mytrae P(ublius) Ae(lius) / Titullus prae(fectus) / v(otum) s(olvit) l(aetus) l(ibens) m(erito) ("For the Invincible God Mithras, Publius Aelius Titullus, prefect, gladly, willingly, and deservedly fulfilled a vow"). Altar found 1844 in the mithraeum at Rudchester. Source: RIB I pp.454-5
CIMRM 841: RIB 1396: Deo Soli Invic(to) / Tib(erius) Cl(audius) Dec(i)mus / Cornel(ius) Anto/nius praef(ectus) / templ(um) restit(uit) ("For the invincible sun god, Tiberius Claudius Decimus Antonius, prefect, restored the temple"). Altar found 1844 in the mithraeum at Rudchester. Source: RIB I p.455
CIMRM 842: RIB 1397: Soli / Apollini / Aniceto / [Mithrae] / Apon[i]us / Rogatianus / [... ("For the sun god Apollo Anicetus Mithras, Aponius Rogatianus..."). Altar found 1844 in the mithraeum at Rudchester. Source: RIB I p.455

Arch. Ael. 4.

See CIMRM 838, the Rudchester Mithraeum.

Note that Rudchester is also given as "Rutchester" in 19th century literature, and is the site of ancient Vindobala².

Surridge's drawing.

In August 1844, workmen for a local farmer were engaged in extracting stone from a mound of earth on Hadrian's Wall, which covered the remains of the way-station of Vindobala. They discovered five altars "on the outside of what had been the walls of the station". Three of these, the most complete, were extracted in November 1844 and taken to Otterburn Castle; the other two were removed on 18 December and taken to the Newcastle society of antiquaries. In 1845 the finds were published in Archaeologia Aeliana, with a plate.³ Four of the altars bore inscriptions; the fifth was smaller and uninscribed.

A drawing of the four inscribed altars was published by Thomas Surridge in 1853.⁴

A table of which item is which would seem useful:

CIMRM	Arch. Ael.	Surridge	RIB
839	Fig. 1 (with both sides)	Fig. 2	RIB 1398
841	Fig. 3 (with top)	Fig. 1	RIB 1395
842	Fig. 2	Fig. 4	RIB 1396
843	Fig. 4	Fig. 3	RIB 1397

In Archaeologia Aeliana 4, p.14, the following description is given of the fifth altar, not mentioned by Vermaseren:

Fig. 5.-This small altar is uninscribed, at least the inscription, if there ever were one, is now completely effaced. It is only rendered remarkable by the singular circumstance of its having been fixed in a large flat stone, by a sort of rude mortice and tenon, for the purpose, I presume, of giving it steadiness. It is, perhaps, worthy of remark, that an altar about the same size was found, along with the larger altars to Mithras, at Houseteads.

Further excavations took place in the 1950's.⁵

CIMRM entry

839.
Altar (H. 1.25 Br. 0.46).
Apart from the bibl. in MMM II 393 No. Z72b and fig. 311; Northumberland County History XII, 38; Askew in Durham University Journal, XXX, 1938, 3 (Prof. Wright was so kind to draw my attention to this article, which, however, I was not able to consult).
The front part of the shaft is decorated with a crown, decorated with three vittae. In it the letters DEO with an inscription No. 840 below it. The whole is surrounded by two palm-branches. On the badly damaged capital a representation of Mithras' rock-birth, according to Askew.
On the front of the die, between two columns, a naked person to the left, walking beside a bull and holding its horns. On the r. side three daggers and in the upper l. side of the altar a bull's head.
840.
CIL VII 544; MMM II No. 478.
Deo / L. Sentius / Castus /Ieg(ionis) VI d(onum) p(osuit).
841.
ClL VII 541; MMM II No. 475.
According to Prof. Wright, to ,whom I am very much indebted for his informations, "it has four small foci on the top of the capital in addition to the usual large focus". Blackgate Museum (Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle- upon-Tyne (S. 4) V, 1931, 149).
Deo invicto / Mytrae P. Ael(ius) Ti[t]ullus prae(fectus) / v(otum) s(olvit) l(ibens) l(aetus) m(erito).
Titullus as Haverfield, not Flav(i)nus as Huebner, Cumont (Wright).
842.
CIL VII 542; MMM II No. 476.
Deo Soli invic(to) / Tib. Cl(audius) Decimus / Cornel(ia) Anto/nius praef(ectus) / templ(um) restit(uit).
843.
CIL VII 543; MMM II No. 477.
Soli / Apollini /aniceto / .. ilc. / tidiv .. / ... /.