By chance - or rather thanks to the algorithm - I came across an article from Military History Now about the presence at Vindolanda on Hadrian’s Wall of the cult of the originally Hittite deity Jupiter Dolichenus.
We are familiar with devotion amongst the Romans to the Persian cult of Mithras both from the temple discovered in London and from that on Hadrian’s Wall, but the survival of a Hittite cult, adopted into the Roman pantheon, does, at first sight appear somewhat exotic, if not quixotic, in this particular context.
Wikipedia has a detailed and illustrated account of the cult and its place in Roman life in the second and third centuries which can be read at Jupiter Dolichenus
The presence of such a specialised cult on the Wall demonstrates the cultural and religious breadth of the Roman Empire as well as its territorial spread, such that cults could be transmitted not just to individuals but to groups who ranged across the Pax Romana. It appears to have been a devotion with a strong appeal to military men posted on the frontiers of the Empire, and hence its appearance at Vindolanda.
The illustrated article from Military History Now be seen at Echoes of the Thunder God – How the Likeness of a Forgotten Hittite Deity Found Its Way Into a Roman Army Fort in Britain
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