Find Spot record MDR15514 - Roman altar, Mill Farm, Brough, Brough and Shatton

Roman altar found lying prone, face downwards, beneath about 2 feet of hill wash. The altar, which is carved out of gritstone, stands 3ft 10" in height. It is the largest and most complete altar to have been found at Brough (1980) and the first new inscription to have come to light since 1903. The inscription reads 'praef (ectus) posuit idemque dedica vit', which means '…commanding officer set it up and also dedicated it'. The upper five lines of the inscription are badly battered and worn and have not yet (1980) been made out. The names of the Prefect, of the unit he commanded and of the deity to whom the altar was dedticated remain to be decyphered. The unit of the Roman army on garrison duty at Brough in the 2nd century AD is known to have been the First Cohort of Aquitanians, but there are indications (from the layout of the inscription) that the new altar may be somewhat (perhaps as much as a century) later in date. Professor E Birley made the suggestion that the top line, on the capital, where only the letters 'R V' can be read, contains a reference to the Arverni, the Gallic tribe who inhabited part of sout-west France. The altar was found some 250 yards from the boundary of the fort, and on the far side of the River Noe. (1)