Excavation work in the churchyard of Leicester Cathedral in preparation for a new visitor centre has not only revealed many more skeletons than had been anticipated but also an important aspect of the life of the late Roman city and possible evidence of the direct replacement of a pagan shrine by an early Christian church. The cult to which the pagan shrine which lies in close proximity to the later church was dedicated is not clear, but the likelihood is that it was one of the eastern Mystery Religions that flourished in the Roman Empire alongside the emerging Christian Church. Like Christianity they offered believers insight into a hidden world and an apparent route to spiritual and physical rebirth. Unlike Christianity they were not seen as subversive of the political order and often appealed to the military.
The discovery is reported by the BBC News website at Roman shrine discovered near cathedral graveyard and by the Daily Telegraph at Legend proves true as Roman temple is found under Leicester Cathedral.
The iflscience website has another useful account of the excavation at Underground Chamber Found At Leicester Cathedral Suggests Folk Tale May Be True
The Leicester Mercury has a report on the discovery which also includes more about other finds from the site at Roman altar discovered underneath Leicester Cathedral
Leicester is known to have originated as a Roman city, and it still has important visible remains such as the Jewry Wall.
Nineteenth century legend had it that there were Roman remains under the church and thus has now been proved to be true. The church is partly medieval but was much altered in the nineteenth century, notably with the building of the tower and spire. It has served as a cathedral since 1926 and is dedicated to St Martin. This I think is important as a fact in so far as I have read a credible theory that churches dedicated to St Martin of Tours ( 316/336 - 397) may in many cases have originated as foundations made in the years following his death by clergy who looked to him as a patron and model. There is a Wikipedia life of St Martin at Martin of Tours. Given that he died before the military evacuation of Roman Britannia such churches in this country could indeed have a very late Roman or post-Roman origin.
His cult is thus often associated with early missionary activity - notably in Britain with the foundation of Whithorn Cathedral - or with late Roman sites, such as St Martin in the Fields in London, where recent excavations found such evidence. This argument can arguably be applied to St Martin’s in Canterbury, although opinion is divided as to its precise origin, as per Wikipedia at St Martin's Church, Canterbury There are other examples on urban sites that had definitely been occupied in the late Roman period such as York, and also, intriguingly, rural sites associated with late villas. The first canonised confessor saint, as opposed to being a martyr, he remained a very popular saint throughout the medieval period, and continued to be chosen as a patron of new churches, so not all of his churches can be credited with such an early origin.
This discovery can therefore seen as further evidence for continuity of occupation in the walled city and displacement of a pagan cult by the new, ever more Imperially supported, Christian Church. It may also be seen as an argument for an early Christian presence in Leicester about the turn of the fifth and sixth centuries. That all said it may well be that coincidence played a part and that direct continuity was not the case, but nevertheless the indicators would suggest in this case we more continuity and less rupture than was once thought.
I have only visited Leicester Cathedral once, and that was in particular to see the tomb of King Richard III. At that time the view was that the last Yorkist king had provided the cathedral and the city with a significant tourist attraction. Catering to that has led, I assume, to the building of the new visitor centre. That in turn has led to another significant archaeological discovery to put the cathedral on the visitor’s map.
No comments:
Post a Comment