Ancasta

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File:Ancasta Altar.JPG

Ancasta was a Celtic goddess worshipped in Roman Britain. She is known from a single dedicatory inscription found in the United Kingdom at the Roman settlement of Clausentum (Bitterne, near Southampton).Jufer, Nicole, & Thierry Luginbühl (2001). Les dieux gaulois : répertoire des noms de divinités celtiques connus par l'épigraphie, les textes antiques et la toponymie. Paris: Editions Errance. {{ISBN|2-87772-200-7}}. p.21. Ancasta may be taken to be a local goddess, possibly associated with the nearby River Itchen.

The votive dedication to Ancasta reads:

:DEAE ANCASTAE GEMINVS MANI VSLM

:"To the goddess Ancasta, Geminus Mani[lius] willingly and deservedly fulfills his vow."

It may be possible that the name 'Ancasta' is related to Proto-Celtic *kasto- meaning 'swift'.Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, University of Wales. "[http://www.wales.ac.uk/documents/external/cawcs/pcl-moe.pdf Proto-Celtic—English lexicon]." (See also [http://www.wales.ac.uk/newpages/EXTERNAL/E4504.asp this page] for background and disclaimers.)

The inscription is now in the SeaCity Museum.[http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?a=0&hob_id=230258 Clausentum], Pastscape, retrieved 13 January 2012 It was previously in the museum at God's House Tower.{{cite book |last=Douch |first=Robert |date=1968 |title=Monuments and memorials in Southampton (Southampton papers, no.6) |publisher=City of Southampton |page=39 |isbn=}}