Editing Roman Britain (section)

=== Pagan ===
{{Main|Ancient Celtic religion|Religion in ancient Rome}}
[[File:Paganreconstruction (2).gif|thumb|Artist's reconstruction of [[Pagans Hill Roman Temple]], Somerset]]
The [[druid]]s, the Celtic priestly caste who were believed to originate in Britain,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Caesar |first=Julius |title=Commentarii de Bello Gallico |at=[[s:Commentaries on the Gallic War/Book 6#13|6.13]] |author-link=Julius Caesar}}</ref> were outlawed by [[Claudius]],<ref>{{Citation |last=Suetonius |title=[[The Twelve Caesars#Claudius|Claudius]] |at=[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Claudius*.html#25.5 25.5]}}</ref> and in 61 they vainly defended their [[sacred grove]]s from destruction by the Romans on the island of Mona ([[Anglesey]]).<ref>{{Citation |last=Tacitus |title=Annals |at=[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Tac.+Ann.+14.30 14.30]}}</ref> Under Roman rule the Britons continued to worship native Celtic deities, such as [[Ancasta]], but often conflated with their Roman equivalents, like [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]] Rigonemetos at [[Nettleham]].

The degree to which earlier native beliefs survived is difficult to gauge precisely. Certain European ritual traits such as the significance of the number 3, the importance of the head and of water sources such as [[spring (hydrology)|springs]] remain in the archaeological record, but the differences in the [[votive offering]]s made at the [[Roman Baths (Bath)|baths]] at [[Bath, Somerset]], before and after the Roman conquest suggest that continuity was only partial. Worship of the [[Roman emperor]] is widely recorded, especially at military sites. The founding of a [[Roman temple]] to [[Temple of Claudius, Colchester|Claudius]] at [[Camulodunum]] was one of the impositions that led to the revolt of [[Boudica]]. By the 3rd century, [[Pagans Hill Roman Temple]] in Somerset was able to exist peaceably and it did so into the 5th century.

Pagan religious practices were supported by priests, represented in Britain by votive deposits of priestly regalia such as chain crowns from [[West Stow]] and [[Willingham Fen]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Esposito |first=Alessandra |title=Theoretical Roman Archaeology Journal: Proceedings of the Twenty-Fifth Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference |date=2016 |publisher=[[Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference]] |editor-last=Mandichs |editor-first=M. J. |pages=92–110 |chapter=A Context for Roman Priestly Regalia: Depositional Practices and Spatial Distribution of Assemblages from Roman Britain |doi=10.16995/TRAC2015_92_110 |editor-last2=Derrick |editor-first2=T. J. |editor-last3=Sanchez Gonzalez |editor-first3=S. |editor-last4=Savani |editor-first4=G. |editor-last5=Zampieri |editor-first5=E. |issue=2015 |doi-access=free }}{{Open access}}</ref>

Eastern cults such as [[Mithraic mysteries|Mithraism]] also grew in popularity towards the end of the occupation. The [[London Mithraeum]] is one example of the popularity of [[Greco-Roman mysteries|mystery religions]] among the soldiery. Temples to [[Mithras]] also exist in military contexts at [[Vindobala]] on [[Hadrian's Wall]] (the [[Rudchester Mithraeum]]) and at [[Segontium]] in [[Wales in the Roman era|Roman Wales]] (the [[Caernarfon Mithraeum]]).