ABSTRACT

This chapter considers some of the epigraphical problems resulting from the various ways in which the cult of the numen is recorded in order to establish a basis on which to discuss the nature and significance of this particular form of worship in Britain. Inscriptions on Stone, by R. G. Collingwood and R. P. Wright, the major part of the epigraphical evidence for the Roman presence in Britain has at last been conveniently assembled under one cover. A few observations may be appropriate at this juncture on the general character of the cult in Britain. In no other quarter of the Roman world are dedications to the Imperial numen so plentiful. Both the collective numina Augustorum and the numen of the living emperor or emperors are attested with gods and godlings of every kind and there is nothing to show that one or the other was particularly associated with traditional Roman, imperial, oriental, or Celtic divinities.