Located on the southern edge of the Forest of Dean with views of the River Severn, the Romano-British temple at Lydney was excavated by archaeologist Sir Mortimer Wheeler in 1928-9. The temple occupies part of an Iron Age fortified hill, nearby is another hill crowned by the broken walls of a medieval castle. The temple was occupied in the late Roman period, and is unusual in that it operated as a pagan site at a time when the official religion of Rome was Christianity. A recent reevaluation of the site suggests that it was a popular place for pilgrimage as early as the second century. The site for the temple may have been chosen as it offered a clear view of the Severn Bore. The mosaic floor of the temple included images of dolphins, fish, and sea monsters. It is possible that the temple is orientated towards the sunrise of the winter solstice. The temple was dedicated to the gods Nuada (Nodens), and Silvanus. Nodens was equivalent to the Welsh Nudd, and Lludd Llaw Eraint (Lludd of th