It was a ploughman's chance discovery that led to one the greatest Roman finds of the Victorian age – described by John Collingwood Bruce, the 19th-century historian of Hadrian's Wall, as a 'sudden acquisition of treasure' such as had never before been seen in the region.
The Roman fort at Maryport is best known for the collection of altars, dedicated to the god Jupiter, that were found buried in a series of large pits just outside its walls. Where was this religious stonework originally displayed – and what can we learn from the remains of two temples first discovered almost 150 years ago? Carly Hilts explores a wide-ranging report on the site by Ian Haynes and Tony Wilmott.
Excavations at Maryport have shed vivid light on activity outside the Roman fort, from possible temple buildings and buried altars to signs of more everyday life. Tony Wilmott, Ian Haynes, and John Zant explain more.