Coventina was a

Romano-British The Romano-British culture arose in Britain under the Roman Empire following the Roman conquest in AD 43 and the creation of the province of Britannia. It arose as a fusion of the imported Roman culture with that of the indigenous Britons, a ...

goddess of wells and springs. She is known from multiple inscriptions at one site in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

county of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, an area surrounding a wellspring near Carrawburgh on

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...

. It is possible that other inscriptions, two from

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania ...

and one from

Narbonensis Gallia Narbonensis (Latin for "Gaul of Narbonne", from its chief settlement) was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in Southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra ("Our Province"), because it was the ...

, refer to Coventina, but this is disputed.L. Allason-Jones and B. McKay, ''Coventina's Well'', Oxbow Books/The Trustees of the Clayton Collection, Chester Museum. Oxford, UK, 1985

The well

Standing stone at Coventina's Well - geograph

Dedications to Coventina and

votive A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...

deposits were found in a walled area which had been built to contain the outflow from a spring now called "Coventina's Well". The well and the walled area surrounding it are nearby the site variously referred to as ''Procolita'', ''Brocolitia'', or ''Brocolita'', once a Roman fort and settlement on

, now known as Carrawburgh (the name "Procolita" is found in the 5th century document

Notitia Dignitatum The ''Notitia Dignitatum'' (Latin for "The List of Offices") is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Western and the Eastern Roman Empire. It is unique as one of very few surviving documents of ...

, and "Brocolita" in the 7th century

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' ( la, Ravennatis Anonymi Cosmographia, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. Text ...

). The remains of a Roman

Mithraeum A Mithraeum , sometimes spelled Mithreum and Mithraion ( grc, Μιθραίον), is a Mithraic temple, erected in classical antiquity by the worshippers of Mithras. Most Mithraea can be dated between 100 BC and 300 AD, mostly in the Roman Emp ...

and

Nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

are also found near the site. The well itself was a spring in a rectangular basin 2.6m x 2.4m in the centre of a walled enclosure 11.6m x 12.2m within a wall 0.9m thick. The contents of the well included 13,487 coins from Mark Anthony to

Gratian Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and wa ...

, a relief of three water

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

, the head of a male statue, two dedication slabs to the goddess Coventina, ten altars to Coventina and

Minerva Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the Roma ...

, two clay incense burners, and a wide range of votive objects. The site near Coventina's Well was excavated by British

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

John Clayton John Clayton may refer to: Arts and entertainment Writing *John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer *John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, John Bell Clayton (c. 1907–1955), American writer *John Clayton (sportswriter) ( ...

in 1876. The date of the wall at Coventina's Well is uncertain, but some have theorized that it was built sometime after the completion of the Roman fort (dated between the years 128 and 133). Since Hadrian's Wall does not deviate to avoid the well, this may suggest that the boundary wall around the well was built some time after in order to control the flow of water in a marshy area. Evidence from coin hoards and stones which covered them and those also blocking the well suggest a fairly abrupt end around 388, perhaps due to events linked to anti-pagan edicts of

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

Statues

Excavation of the site revealed several inscribed

altars An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism, ...

, some with depictions of Coventina in typical Roman nymph form - reclining, partially clothed and associated with water. On one, Coventina is either depicted in triple form or with two attendants.

Inscriptions

At least ten inscriptions to Coventina are recorded from Carrawburgh. Several stone altars contained dedications to Coventina as did two pottery incense burners. An example of an inscriptionCollingwood, R. G. and Wright, R. P. 1965. ''The Roman Inscriptions of Britain (RIB)''. Oxford, Clarendon Press
Available online
/ref> from the site reads: :''Deae Coventinae'' / :''T D Cosconia'' / :''nvs Pr Coh'' / :''I Bat L M'' “To the Goddess Coventina, Titus D nclearCosconianus, Prefectus of the First Cohort of

Batavians The Batavi were an ancient Germanic tribe that lived around the modern Dutch Rhine delta in the area that the Romans called Batavia, from the second half of the first century BC to the third century AD. The name is also applied to several milita ...

, freely and deservedly (dedicated this stone).” Three altars dedicated to

Mithras Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries or the Cult of Mithras, was a Roman mystery religion centered on the god Mithras. Although inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian divinity (''yazata'') Mithra, the Roman Mithras is linke ...

were placed there by prefects of the military garrison.

Literary references

*In his book ''

The Skystone ''The Skystone'' is a historical fiction novel written by Jack Whyte, which was first published in 1992. The story is told by a Roman Officer called Publius Varrus, who is an expert blacksmith as well as a soldier. In the early fifth century, a ...

,''

Jack Whyte Jack Whyte (March 15, 1940February 22, 2021) was a Scottish-Canadian novelist of historical fiction. Born and raised in Scotland, he moved to Canada in 1967. He resided in Kelowna, British Columbia. Early life Whyte was born in Scotland on Mar ...

represents Coventina as the inspiration for

The Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...

. *

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (; 13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature.

's poem ''"Grotus and Conventina"'' from his 1987 collection ''"The Haw Lantern"''.

References

External links

tehomet.net
has historical, archaeological, folkloric, theological and literary resources for Coventina, plus photographs of the archaeological site and the artifacts found there. Also includes directions to the site and associated museum.
Brocolita
at Roman-Britain.co.uk {{Authority control Goddesses of the ancient Britons Sacred springs Hadrian's Wall Water goddesses Gallaecian goddesses