Beliefs: in detail

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Small temple excavated on the site of the Old Bailey, artist's reconstruction

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Mother goddesses were common in both native Roman religions

Roman and native religions

Pairing Roman gods with native ones may have been a practical move to prevent native religion becoming a focus of opposition to the Roman regime. Many pre-Roman gods were adopted and honoured in Roman style. Mars Camulus combined the Roman god Mars with a native British god. Celtic mother goddesses often appear in Roman form.

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Pweter bowl with the Christian chi-rho symbol

In AD312 Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman state. There is little evidence of Christianity being popular here, although a Bishop of Londinium is recorded in AD314. A bowl with a chi-ro symbol (the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek) is the only archaeological evidence of Christian belief.

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Superstition

Religion and superstition overlap and it can be hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Many people wore jewellery with protective symbols, or made from protective materials like amber or jet. Archaeologists have found numerous lead curses, which people used to ask the gods for revenge on someone they didn't like.