Cramond Lioness
Encyclopedia
The Cramond lioness is a Roman-era
sculpture recovered in 1997 from the mouth of the River Almond
at Cramond
, Edinburgh
, Scotland
.
It depicts a bound male prisoner being killed by a lioness. The upper torso and head of the prisoner are shown, with the giant lioness behind him, sinking her teeth into his skull.
The work is interpreted as a Roman sculpture imported to Scotland to serve as part of the tomb of a Roman military commander or dignitary, and connected to the nearby Cramond Roman Fort
. The location of such a tomb, and how the sculpture reached its location in the river are unknown.
The sculpture is presently housed at the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. In 2003, plans were unveiled for the lioness to be housed in a new archaeological centre at the Roman Fort in Cramond, although this proposal was still at the initial planning stage in 2008.
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
sculpture recovered in 1997 from the mouth of the River Almond
River Almond, Lothian
The River Almond is a river in east-central Scotland. It is 28 miles long, rising in North Lanarkshire near Shotts and runs through West Lothian, draining into the Firth of Forth at Cramond near Edinburgh....
at Cramond
Cramond
Cramond is a seaside village now part of suburban Edinburgh, Scotland, located in the north-west corner of the city at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth....
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
It depicts a bound male prisoner being killed by a lioness. The upper torso and head of the prisoner are shown, with the giant lioness behind him, sinking her teeth into his skull.
The work is interpreted as a Roman sculpture imported to Scotland to serve as part of the tomb of a Roman military commander or dignitary, and connected to the nearby Cramond Roman Fort
Cramond Roman Fort
Cramond Roman Fort is a Roman-Era archaeological site at Cramond, Edinburgh, Scotland. In the Ravenna Cosmography this settlement is called "Caromago". The fort was established around 140 AD and occupied until around 170, with a further period of occupation from around 208 to 211...
. The location of such a tomb, and how the sculpture reached its location in the river are unknown.
The sculpture is presently housed at the Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. In 2003, plans were unveiled for the lioness to be housed in a new archaeological centre at the Roman Fort in Cramond, although this proposal was still at the initial planning stage in 2008.
External links
- Cramond Lioness, National Museum of Scotland
- Cramond Roman Fort, AOC Archaeology
- Images of the front (showing prisoner clearly), and right side of the sculpture, DK Images