Agriculture and Worship. A Contribution to the Study of Daily Life in Roman Singidunum and its Environs

Abstract

The paper attempts to understand two aspects of everyday life in Roman Singidunum,agriculture and the worship of agricultural deities, based on epigraphic and archaeological evidence. The inhabitants of the castrum and the civil settlement of Singidunum continuously cultivated the land and worshiped the deities. Numerous rural estates on the edge of the city territory and the wider periphery were pointed out. Confirmations of agricultural activities mostly date from the 3rd and 4th centuries, while confirmations of cult activity are mostly dated to the slightly earlier period of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Bacchus, Liber, and Libera are honored as well as Silvano, Terra Mater, and Priapus. In addition to the explicit attestations of the cult, inscriptions, and sculptures, there are everyday objects such as gems or lamps also. Archaeological and epigraphic findings did not show a significant correlation between the confirmation of land cultivation and the veneration of the patron deities of this activity.