View source for Cocidius

== Representations and dedications ==

''Fanocodi'' was a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] place-name mentioned in the [[Ravenna Cosmography|Ravenna ''Cosmography'']] for a location close to the [[Solway Firth]]; the name has been derived from ''Fanum Cocidii'', or temple of Cocidius, and the place identified with [[Bewcastle]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roman-britain.org/places/fanum_cocidi.htm|title=Fanum Cocidi|date=4 March 2011|author=Togidumnus|access-date=31 October 2013}}</ref> There are dedications to Cocidius around [[Hadrian's Wall]] and [[Cumbria]], including the forts at [[Birdoswald]] and [[Bewcastle]]. Another inscription, at [[Ebchester]], refers to him as ''Cocidius Vernostonus'', Cocidius of the [[alder]] tree. A 2000-year-old carving of Cocidius was found in 2006 near [[Cilurnum|Chesters Fort]] on Hadrian's Wall.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/4796736.stm Carving of 'northern god' found] BBC NEWS Online, Published Saturday, 11 March 2006. Accessed Online May 14, 2015</ref> This was dubbed the ''little man'' and shows a figure with its arms flung wide and legs braced firmly against the ground. Although the gender is not depicted, the shape and accessories are seemingly male, with a shield in the left hand, a sword in the right, and a scabbard hanging from the belt around his tunic. This is one of at least nine representations known in the Hadrian's Wall corridor, and a further 25 or so inscriptions dedicated to him. Most of these are along the western portion of the Wall, the most spectacular being found at Yardhope, where a figure in bas-relief brandishes spear and shield on a vertical rock-face at the entrance to a small shrine.<ref>Barnett, T. (2006). Gods on the Rocks. ''Current Archaeology'' '''204''': 618.</ref>