A note on the dedication lamiis tribus (RIB 1331) as represented on the Seal of the Society

The altar inscribed ‘lamiis tribus’, from the Roman fort of Condercum (modern-day Benwell) on Hadrian’s Wall, appears to be the only known case of a dedication to lamiae. This note analyses the contexts of this stone in Classical literary demonology, in the religious climate of the fort of Condercu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Egeler, Matthias 1980- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Soc. 2010
In: Archaeologia Aeliana
Year: 2010, Volume: 39, Pages: 15-23
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Rights Information:CC BY-NC 4.0
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Summary:The altar inscribed ‘lamiis tribus’, from the Roman fort of Condercum (modern-day Benwell) on Hadrian’s Wall, appears to be the only known case of a dedication to lamiae. This note analyses the contexts of this stone in Classical literary demonology, in the religious climate of the fort of Condercum and in vernacular Insular Celtic demonology. On this basis it presents arguments indicating close correspondence between the unique lamiae of Condercum and some battlefield-demons of early Irish sagas, which supports the assumption of a Celtic character of the ‘three lamiae’. At the same time, the analysis of the various contexts of the lamiae tres offers new insights into the relationship between the Classical literary tradition about lamia, the triplicity of the lamiae of Condercum, and the immediate context of the stone in the particular religious climate of this fort which previously had been highly problematic.
ISSN:0261-3417
Contains:Enthalten in: Archaeologia Aeliana
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.5284/1061216