Veteris (commonly spelled ''Vitiris, Vheteris, Huetiris'', and ''Hueteris'') was a Celtic god attested from many inscriptions in

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

. The dedicants were usually private individuals and were exclusively male. During the 3rd Century AD the cult was particularly popular among the ranks of the

Roman army The Roman army () served ancient Rome and the Roman people, enduring through the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC), the Roman Republic (509–27 BC), and the Roman Empire (27 BC–AD 1453), including the Western Roman Empire (collapsed Fall of the W ...

. Veteris' name was never linked with that of any of the Classical gods, but he was invoked with another local god, Mogons, at Netherby.

Centres of worship

Veteris was worshipped in

and altar-stones raised to him have been recovered in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

,The Gods of Roman Britain
from roman-britain.org such as those excavated at: *Netherby (971 ogont Vitire 973 uetiri *Carrawburgh (1548 eteri 1549 uiteribus * Housesteads (1602 ueteri 1603 uitri 1604-7 eteribus *

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 ...

(2068 eteri 2096 uiteribus * Catterick (727) * Chester-le-Street (1046 itiri 1047 itiribus 1048 itbus *

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

(1070c nsu Vitiri * Lanchester (1087, 1088) * Ebchester (1103 & 1104 itiri * Corbridge (1139 eteri 1140 itiri 1141 it * Benwell (1335 etri 1336 itirbus * Chesters (1455 itiri 1456 eteribus 1457 itirbus 1458 otris? * Great Chesters (1728 etiri 1729 & 1730 eteribus * Chesterholm (1697 eteri 1698 eteri 1699 eteribus 1722e & 1722f eteribus *

Carvoran Magnis or Magna was a Roman Empire, Roman castra, fort near Hadrian's Wall in northern Roman Britain, Britain. Its ruins are now known as and are located near Carvoran, Northumberland, in northern England. It was built on the Stanegate fronti ...

(1793-5 eteri 1796 etiri 1797 etiriu 1798 iterino 1799-1801 itiri 1802/3 eteribus 1804 iteribus 1805 itiribus Forty altars to this god are recorded altogether, some alluding to Veteris as a single entity, others to a multiple version, perhaps a triad. Little is known about the specific function or character of the god. Occasionally, there is iconography associated with Veteris: for example, an altar from

is decorated with images of a boar and snake, the boar indicative of hunting or war and the snake healing or death.

Sources

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 ...

. *Lancaster museum, Lancaster,

. *Newcastle Museum of Antiquities, Newcastle,

. *Penrith Museum, Penrith,

. *Verovicium Roman Museum, Housesteads Fort,

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 ...

. * York Castle Museum,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

. *Dictionary of Celtic Myth and Legend, Miranda J. Green, Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1997 Gods of the ancient Britons {{Celt-myth-stub