CARVING STONE
As all the Earlyworks members are interested in interpreting the everyday lives of ordinary people in history, Gary/Tranquilus decided to try hand carving these two Roman altars from blocks of sandstone: one of many building materials common in the Roman Empire, and relatively easy to carve for a novice. With no stone-working experience, it was something of a difficult enterprise, the sandstone proving quite brittle and frequently chipping off, giving the altar to Aesculapius (right) a slightly crude finish. Overall though, it proved rewarding, with the Fortuna altar in particular having emerged with a good finish, now a prized garden ornament when not being used for living history! For these first attempts, modern chisels were used, but absolutely no power tools, as Gary wanted to enjoy the hands-on experience at trying this new craft.
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These modern tools, aside from having a different steel composition and plastic handles, are basically the same as would have been used by the Romans, providing for a reasonably authentic experience for a first-time attempt. When designing both altars, Gary relied heavily on primary source evidence of surviving examples and the inscriptions carved upon them. After the demanding task of carving the basic geometric designs, based not any specific example but on generic shapes commonly used, it was decided to paint rather than chisel in the inscriptions.
Contrary to sometimes popular belief, altars were often painted, as in fact were many large sculptures and public buildings, although the exact pigmentation is often debatable given the degree of decay. The colours used are known to be close modern equivalents to pigments the Romans could create.
The first altar is dedicated to Fortuna: the Roman goddess of fate, chance and luck. She was thoroughly a deity for ordinary people, which has always held an appeal for Gary above more elite cults. Fortuna had many aspects, two of the more well-known being Fortuna Romana (Luck of Rome) and Fortuna Publica (Luck of the People). For ordinary Romans, worship was based more upon thanks and celebration for favours granted by the gods, instead of requests of future help, which is implicit in the common inscription “VSLM”: an abbreviation of “votum solvit libens merito”, or “willingly and deservedly fulfilled their vows”. In other words, this altar was erected by Aurelius Julianus (Gary’s military pseudonym) and Alexander (myself, son of Gary) to fulfil a vow to give thanks to the Goddess for assistance rendered. They aren’t implying their piety should bring about further help.
The first altar is dedicated to Fortuna: the Roman goddess of fate, chance and luck. She was thoroughly a deity for ordinary people, which has always held an appeal for Gary above more elite cults. Fortuna had many aspects, two of the more well-known being Fortuna Romana (Luck of Rome) and Fortuna Publica (Luck of the People). For ordinary Romans, worship was based more upon thanks and celebration for favours granted by the gods, instead of requests of future help, which is implicit in the common inscription “VSLM”: an abbreviation of “votum solvit libens merito”, or “willingly and deservedly fulfilled their vows”. In other words, this altar was erected by Aurelius Julianus (Gary’s military pseudonym) and Alexander (myself, son of Gary) to fulfil a vow to give thanks to the Goddess for assistance rendered. They aren’t implying their piety should bring about further help.
Contrary to sometimes popular belief, altars were often painted, as in fact were many large sculptures and public buildings, although the exact pigmentation is often debatable given the degree of decay. The colours used are known to be close modern equivalents to pigments the Romans could create.
The first altar is dedicated to Fortuna: the Roman goddess of fate, chance and luck. She was thoroughly a deity for ordinary people, which has always held an appeal for Gary above more elite cults. Fortuna had many aspects, two of the more well-known being Fortuna Romana (Luck of Rome) and Fortuna Publica (Luck of the People). For ordinary Romans, worship was based more upon thanks and celebration for favours granted by the gods, instead of requests of future help, which is implicit in the common inscription “VSLM”: an abbreviation of “votum solvit libens merito”, or “willingly and deservedly fulfilled their vows”. In other words, this altar was erected by Aurelius Julianus (Gary’s military pseudonym) and Alexander (myself, son of Gary) to fulfil a vow to give thanks to the Goddess for assistance rendered. They aren’t implying their piety should bring about further help.
The Fortuna altar contains examples of common inscription and imagery. The dedication begins with “Deae Sanctae”, or “To the Holy God(dess)”, one of two common ‘openers’ to dedications, the other “Dis Manibus” (“To the Spirits of the Departed”) being found more upon tombstones than altars. The name of Aurelius Julianus has been shortened to “Aurel Julianus”. Altar inscriptions were often abbreviated in order to fit. With carvers commonly being illiterate, they would have been copied verbatim from the instructions of the client, meaning there is no real standardisation for the abbreviations used, making translating museum examples a bit of a challenge! One example, “Octavius” has been known to be shortened to “Oct” or simply “O”. The main symbol of Fortuna, a wheel of fortune, has been carved on the side, a frequent practice for depicting images pertinent to the deity in question.
The first altar is dedicated to Fortuna: the Roman goddess of fate, chance and luck. She was thoroughly a deity for ordinary people, which has always held an appeal for Gary above more elite cults. Fortuna had many aspects, two of the more well-known being Fortuna Romana (Luck of Rome) and Fortuna Publica (Luck of the People). For ordinary Romans, worship was based more upon thanks and celebration for favours granted by the gods, instead of requests of future help, which is implicit in the common inscription “VSLM”: an abbreviation of “votum solvit libens merito”, or “willingly and deservedly fulfilled their vows”. In other words, this altar was erected by Aurelius Julianus (Gary’s military pseudonym) and Alexander (myself, son of Gary) to fulfil a vow to give thanks to the Goddess for assistance rendered. They aren’t implying their piety should bring about further help.
The Fortuna altar contains examples of common inscription and imagery. The dedication begins with “Deae Sanctae”, or “To the Holy God(dess)”, one of two common ‘openers’ to dedications, the other “Dis Manibus” (“To the Spirits of the Departed”) being found more upon tombstones than altars. The name of Aurelius Julianus has been shortened to “Aurel Julianus”. Altar inscriptions were often abbreviated in order to fit. With carvers commonly being illiterate, they would have been copied verbatim from the instructions of the client, meaning there is no real standardisation for the abbreviations used, making translating museum examples a bit of a challenge! One example, “Octavius” has been known to be shortened to “Oct” or simply “O”. The main symbol of Fortuna, a wheel of fortune, has been carved on the side, a frequent practice for depicting images pertinent to the deity in question.
The second altar is dedicated to Aesculapius, the son of the healing god Apollo and himself a deity of healing. Aesculapius’ daughter was Hygia, goddess of health, making the entire family pertinent to Gary, who often portrays the early imperial army medicus Tranquilus. Aesculapius had many shrines and healing centres, one of the oldest being in Athens, dated to 420 BCE. Carving this altar proved more difficult, with the stone being far more brittle, just proving that there really can be no such thing as complete uniformity in processes like these. |
Four aspects of religious symbolism are painted on the Aesculapius altar: the wreath, the victory leaves and the crescent being on the front. The victory leaf and wreath are often found on altars, with the latter encompassing the dedication in a ring as copied here. They allude to the Goddess Victoria, guardian of the Roman Empire. The crescent moon is a symbol of good luck, a useful attribute for an army surgeon! On the back of this altar is a roughly carved phallus, prevalent in Roman sculpture as a symbol of fertility, and sometimes found somewhat out-of-place to the modern eye round the back and sides of altars, including a possible example at Aldborough near York.
According to John Liversidge, Britain in the Roman Empire (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1970), altars dedicated to Aesculapius have been found at Lanchester (Durham), Chester, South Shields (the fort of Arbeia), Maryport and Overborough (Lancashire). The Chester altar (pictured), now in the British Museum, is dedicated to Aesculapius as well as Fortuna in the form of Fortuna Redux (Fortune that Brings Men Home) and Salus. This dedication is for the health and well-being of the freedmen and slaves of the household, as well as the family of local legate Titus Pomponius Mamilianus. This is quite rare as a dedication shared by both a high-ranking official and his slaves.
It reads: “FORTVNAE REDVCI AESCVLAP ET SALVTI EIVS LIBERT ET FAMILIA T POMPONI T F GAL MAMILIANI RVFI ANTISTIANI FVNISVLANI VETTONIANI LEG AVG D D” |
© Trustees of the British Museum
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(“To Fortuna Redux, Aesculapius, and Salus for the well-being of the freedmen [and slaves-household] and the family of Titus Pomponius Mamilianus Rufus Antistianus Funisulanus, son of Titus, of the Galerian voting tribe, of the Vettones, and legate of the Emperor, who donated this offering.”) (Text source: roman-britain.org). This intriguing example was one of many providing inspiration for the dedications on Gary’s altars.
As to the designs, the photo (left) is of a typical geometric type used as point of reference for the Aesculapius altar, albeit in simplified form. This particular altar, found in Winchester, is dedicated to a range of mother-goddesses (Source: T. W. Potter and Catherine Johns, Roman Britain (London: British Museum Press, 1992). The image holder is the British Museum Photographic Service.
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