In 2010, before construction workers began building a new cricket pavilion in Lewisvale Park, just east of Edinburgh, Scotland, archaeologists conducted a preliminary survey. During their brief excavation, they uncovered an extraordinary Roman-era altar, used for the worship of the sun god in a mysterious, male-only ritual.
The Altar to Sol, found in two pieces, was made of buff sandstone and originally stood approximately 4 feet (1.23 meters) tall. The top of the monument was decorated with four female busts representing the seasons. In the center, a face of the sun god Sol rises, enclosed in a carved circle. The face’s eyes and mouth, along with six rays of Sol’s crown, were pierced to allow light to illuminate the altar from behind. Traces of red paint were found on the front, and carved laurel wreaths adorned the sides.
The inscription suggests that the altar was dedicated by a soldier named Gaius Cassius Flavianus, possibly the commander of the Roman military base in Inveresk, Scotland, around A.D. 142. This fort, located along the Antonine Wall, marked the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire, where soldiers were stationed to protect the empire’s boundaries.
National Museums Scotland, which acquired both the Altar to Sol and another altar honoring the god Mithras, notes that these monuments would have been central to secret religious ceremonies. Mithras, a mythical figure born from a rock and often depicted slaying a bull, was closely linked to Sol. Mithras temples, known as Mithraea, were subterranean and exclusive to men, celebrating the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil.
Fraser Hunter, curator of Iron Age and Roman archaeology at National Museums Scotland, explained that in the dark of these temples, worshippers would have seen the rays and eyes of Sol glaring at them. These altars, rare in Scotland, reveal the beliefs of soldiers stationed along the Antonine Wall, giving them a sense of purpose and a belief in an afterlife.
The altars will be on display at National Museums Scotland starting November 14.
