An artefact discovered at a Northumberland Hadrian’s Wall site made a surprise appearance on a BBC Two quiz on Monday night – alongside Diego Maradona.
On Monday’s edition of Only Connect, a bronze hand uncovered at Vindolanda in 2019 was shown alongside pictures of the Creation of Adam in the Sistine Chapel, the Amazon Prime series Hand of God, and arguably Argentina’s greatest-ever footballer scoring the infamous goal that knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup.
Competitors correctly guessed the link between the four pictures – with bronze hand nicknamed the Hand of God by the Vindolanda Trust when it was discovered in 2018. The child-like bronze hand was discovered close to a temple dedicated to Jupiter Dolichenus, which was excavated in 2009.
When the sculpture was discovered nine years later, the Trust said that it was apparent that the hand most likely served a cult function and may have been closely associated with Jupiter Dolichenus, a god and mystery cult widespread in the Roman Empire from the early second to mid-third centuries AD.
At the time, Andrew Birley, CEO and director of excavations at the Vindolanda Trust said: “We did not expect to find such a beautifully preserved and rare cult artefact so soon after the start of the 2018 excavation season. When we excavated the nearby temple to Dolichenus in 2009 it was clear that the temple treasures had been removed in Roman times.
“However, this find being made in a nearby area reminds us that the life of the temple and the practices associated with the worship of Dolichenus had clearly stretched beyond the confines of its stone walls.”
The “Hand of God” remains on permanent display in the Vindolanda Museum.
Join our Northumberland WhatsApp community for all the latest news Northumberland news direct to your phone.
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN