Etymology:

Condatis likely comes from the Gaulish ‘condate’, or similar Brittonic root, meaning confluence and meeting (Delamarre, 2003). Thus, Condatis means ‘God of the confluence, meeting’ or ‘God of the Watersmeet (Fairless, 1989).

Inscriptions:

We have three complete inscriptions to Condatis and one fragmentary inscription.

“To Mars Condates Arponatus willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow.” (RIB 731)

“To the god Mars Condates, Attonius Quintianus, surveyor, evocatus*, gladly fulfilled the command by order.” (RIB 1024)

“To the god Mars Condates, Valerius Probianus for himself and his household willingly and deservedly fulfilled his vow.” (RIB 1045)

And the fragmentary inscription:

“To the god Mars Condates …” (RIB 3500)

*an evocatus is a “soldier of the praetorian guard retained after 16 years’ service for special service which might include promotion to centurion and above” (RIB Glossary)

Within RIB 1024, we see the possibility that Condantis Themselves granted Attonius Quintianus a command, possibly through a vision or dream, which he then fulfilled (Irby-Massie, 1999, pp. 143). The term ‘ex iussu’ in the inscription implies direct communication from Condatis. The use of this term in itself is not unfounded, with around 5% of Latin and Greek inscriptions containing it or similar terms (Renberg, 2018). However, the term is ambiguous and could refer to having received a command through a dream, vision, or perhaps some form of divination (Renberg, 2018). If the command did come through dream or vision, it is not unreasonable to suggest that Attonius went to a dream interpreter for help; we see similar uses at Nodens temple.

Iconography:

In the general vicinity to the finds of Condatis’ inscriptions was a miniature copper alloy axe, coins, pottery shards, worked stones and an iron key (Crease, 2015). These finds are not necessarily associated with the worship of Condatis; however, it is likely the copper alloy axe is, as miniature objects were given as offerings (Kowalewska, 2018). The axe may have been an offering made to Condatis for healing and allowing someone to use an axe again, or perhaps it speaks to the associations that Condatis had. It is possible, but pure speculation, that Condatis was a God of trade and travel, and therefore the axe may represent a tool used to chop and shape wood to make ships, barges, barrels, and other associated things. Alternatively, or perhaps additionally, as a liminal God and through His sync with Mars, maybe a God of boundaries, the axe representative of defence, and a tool made to create fences, or a tool used to ‘tame’ the wilderness and make it farmable.

The key offers tantalising possibilities as well. Whilst it is possible that it was the key to a now lost lock (like on a chest), it may have been a cult symbol of Condatis. The key in Greco-Roman cults was seen as indicative of liminal Gods and those who could bar or enable access to locations or secrets, such as Janus or Hecate (Karatas, 2019). These comparisons suggest that Condatis has domain over boundaries, defence and travel, further strengthened by the sync with Mars.

There is a right-facing tetraskelion on the altar of RIB 1024, such as on the Battersea Shield, Swastika Stone and many British coins. The tetraskelion may impart solar connotations to Condatis (Fairless, 1989).

Location:

Condatis may be a God local to the area now known as County Durham, a place between two river valleys (Fairless, 1989). However, the fragmentary inscription RIB 3500 was found in modern-day Scotland. Therefore, Condatis may have been more widespread than originally thought.

Interpretatio:

The interpretatio or sync with Mars could suggest a wide range of things for the cult of Condatis. In Britain (and indeed Gaul), the most common role of Mars and Mars syncs are as healers (Aldhouse-Green, 2018). This association with healing that Mars has in Britain can be explained as fighting off disease and illness, and who better to call on than the God of fighting Himself? However, it is good to note that many of the Gods synced with Mars have much broader associations than just healing, as seen with Nodens, Belatucadrus and Alator!

Interpretatio Britanna: 

Condatis, as the God of confluences, rivers and meetings, can be seen as a God of travel, trade and community. In these roles, Condatis heals and aids in any activities such as clearing forests or building. Condatis could be seen as a ‘gatekeeper’ similar to Janus, Brigantia or Ialonus Contrebis and could be called on in the same space in ritual to ‘open the way’. Standing at the confluence with an axe and key, He opens and bars the way to those He sees fits, enabling or disabling travel, trade and communication. 

Bibliography:

Aldhouse-Green, M.J. (2018). Sacred Britannia: the gods and rituals of Roman Britain. London; New York: Thames & Hudson.

Crease, S.M.E., 2015. Re-Thinking Ritual Traditions: Interpreting Structured Deposition in Watery Contexts in Late Pre-Roman Iron Age and Roman Britain (Doctoral dissertation, UCL (University College London)).

Delamarre, X. (2003). Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise : Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental. Paris: Errance.

Fairless, K.J., 1989. Aspects of the archaeology of the brigantes (Doctoral dissertation, Durham University).

Glossary of Latin Terms, Roman Inscriptions in Britain, https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/reference/glossary#evocatus. 

Irby-Massie, G., 1999. Military Religion in Roman Britain. Brill.

Karatas, A.M.S., 2019. Key-bearers of Greek Temples: The Temple Key as a Symbol of Priestly Authority. Mythos. Rivista di Storia delle Religioni, (13).

Kowalewska, J., 2018. Ritual and the Socio-Religious in the Cultures of the Celts and Germans. Język–Szkoła–Religia, 13(3)

Renberg, G.H., 2018. Dreams and other divine communications from the Isiac gods in the Greek and Latin epigraphical record. In Individuals and Materials in the Greco-Roman Cults of Isis (SET) (pp. 649-671). Brill.

RIB 1024, Altar dedicated to Mars Condates, Roman Inscriptions in Britain, https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/1024.

RIB 1045, Altar dedicated to Mars Condates, Roman Inscriptions in Britain, https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/1045. 

RIB 3500, Fragmentary altar dedicated to Mars Condates (?), Roman Inscriptions in Britain, https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/3500. 

RIB 731, Altar dedicated to Mars Condates, Roman Inscriptions in Britain, https://romaninscriptionsofbritain.org/inscriptions/731.