<< Our Photo Pages >> Chester Minerva shrine - Ancient Temple in England in Cheshire
Submitted by HOLYWELL on Friday, 15 February 2019 Page Views: 16689
Multi-periodSite Name: Chester Minerva shrineCountry: England County: Cheshire Type: Ancient Temple
Nearest Town: Chester
Map Ref: SJ40676561
Latitude: 53.184261N Longitude: 2.889291W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
eirrac5 would like to visit
MmeSinn visited on 27th Jul 2015 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 4
wordstone visited on 28th Aug 2014 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 4 Access: 5 Picked this up from Megalithic Portal - was disappointed at first to see that it was in the middle of a public park fronted by a play ground. However the site itself is very easily accessed and has a real sense of place about it. Evidence of recent 'offerings' being made. We followed the slope around the shrine which brings you on top of it. Very atmospheric.
swithunswift visited - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 5 This is a family-friendly site, the field has a recently renovated (2013) kids play area within view of the shrine, the adjoining pub is kid-friendly and serves great real ales, whilst the walls, river walks, museum and Grosvenor park are all within easy walking - and pram - distance.
This is a special site archaeologically - are there any other in situ Roman shrines in the UK?
For those interested in the spiritual facets of such sites, I have found this a deeply inspiring place to meditate at, especially sitting under the near-by lime trees bordering the Dee.
TimPrevett have visited here
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.33 Ambience: 4 Access: 4.67
It was protected by a hood in the 1800s. Minerva has an owl above her right shoulder and holds a spear. It is 4 feet 9 inches tall and 2 feet 6 inches wide.
The shrine is in a field called Edgar's Field after the King stayed at a palace on this field in 973 CE From here he visited St Johns Church so that six tributary kings could swear allegiance to him. He also gave his name to a small cave beside the shrine. Here it appears to the site was christinised by having a figure of the Virgin. Offerings were given to the Virgin who clearly was used to disguise the Minerva figure to make it more acceptable to the Medieval pious people of Chester. In Roman times offerings were given in this cave for safe passage across the Dee still famed for its annual human sacrifice!
Note: A new video shows how antiquarian illustrations can assist in visualising the heavily eroded and damaged but hugely important Minerva shrine, near Chester. As ever - see the comments on our page for more
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