Roman Britain did not have a single religion - there were many different beliefs that changed over time. People in Britain had their own myths, legends and gods before the conquest. The Romans then introduced their gods, and the two traditions mixed together to form new beliefs. The Romans allowed different local religions, so long as people showed loyalty to the Empire by also worshipping the emperor. Later on, as people in Britain came into contact with different cultures from around the Empire, more new ideas were adopted. Cults from the East were introduced, like the worship of the god Mithras, from what is now Iran. In the end, the most important of these new religions was Christianity.

The excavations at Earith showed some of the rituals carried out by the local people. Some complete skeletons were found of animals that may have been sacrificed. Burials of people were also found. Some had been cremated, while others were buried in coffins. A sculpture of Jupiter shows that Roman gods were adopted by the local people.

The Jupiter Sculpture

A striking find from the Camp Ground was a limestone carving of the head and shoulders of a bearded man (42cm high). The stone might originally have been painted, and the pupils of the eyes could have been filled with coloured glass or paste.

The sculpture probably represents Jupiter, the most important of the Roman gods. It would have been one of several carved panels decorating a mausoleum - a stone tomb for one or more people when they died. It was mainly the wealthier families that were able to afford an impressive, decorated tomb like this. The limestone used for the sculpture is not local, coming from Upwell near Wisbech.

At the top of the sculpture, a pair of animal paws can be seen carved above Jupiter's head. These belong to a lion or sphinx that would have been carved into the panel above, acting as a guardian for the bodies within the tomb.

Burials

The most common form of burial ritual during the early Roman period was cremation. The ashes were usually buried in a pot or glass jar, and sometimes other items such as more pots or some food would also be buried alongside. It was believed that these things would be useful for the journey to the afterlife. The graves would probably have been marked with a memorial of some kind.

Nine cremations were found at the Langdale Hale farm at Earith, including both adults and children. The cremation shown is of an adult, who was buried with three other pots, including a fine dish made of glossy red pottery imported from the continent. Some bird bone was also found. Perhaps this person was equipped for their journey to the next world with bird meat along with pots to eat and drink from.

Several of the burials at Langdale Hale were placed in a small cemetery area alongside the road leading to The Camp Ground. This is a typical location for burials during the Roman period. People passing along the road would see the grave memorials and think of the people buried there.

Animal Burials

It is common at Roman sites to find complete skeletons of animals that had been buried in pits or ditches. In some cases these may simply have been sick farm animals that needed to be disposed of. In other cases, though, the animals seem to have been sacrificed.

Several complete animal skeletons were found at Earith, including cows, sheep and dogs. The picture shows a sheep buried at the Camp Ground. It is hard to be sure of the reason for these burials, but we know that some people from the area around Earith did take part in rituals involving animal sacrifice. At the Upper Delphs near Haddenham, 4km from the Earith sites, a Roman temple or shrine has been excavated, where young sheep were repeatedly sacrificed over the course of two hundred years.

In Roman religion, animals could be sacrificed as a gift to a god, in order to gain their favour, or to give thanks for past favours.

It was also believed that priests could tell the future by inspecting the innards of sacrificed animals.