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, ...

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

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, an area surrounding a wellspring near Carrawburgh on

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

. It is possible that other inscriptions, two from

Hispania Hispania was the Ancient Rome, Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two Roman province, provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. During the Principate, Hispania Ulterior was divide ...

and one from

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

, 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

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 near the Roman fort and settlement on

, now known as Carrawburgh, which was called "Brocoliti" in the

Ravenna Cosmography The ''Ravenna Cosmography'' (, "The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese") is a work describing the Ecumene, known world from India to Ireland, compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around 700 AD. It consists of five books describing ...

), from the 7th century but based on earlier sources, and "Procolitia" in the 5th century document

Notitia Dignitatum The (Latin for 'List of all dignities and administrations both civil and military') 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 ...

. The remains of a Roman

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

and

Nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' (Latin : ''nymphaea'') or ''nymphaion'' (), 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 (; ; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian was raised to the rank of ''Augustus'' as a child and inherited the West after his father's death in ...

, a relief of three water

nymphs A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

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

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

, 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 study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

John Clayton 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 ( ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. He won two civil wars and was instrumental in establishing the Nicene Creed as the orthodox doctrine for Nicene C ...

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 Christian ...

, 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, freely and deservedly (dedicated this stone).”

Literary references

*In his book '' The Skystone,''

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 March ...

represents Coventina as the inspiration for The Lady of the Lake. *

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...

'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