A study of Roman domestic altars from sites in the Hadrianic frontier region suggests that flourishing stone-masons' workshops based at Chester-le-Street and Lanchester were in production in the third century A.D. Although some of the masons may have been time-expired soldiers, the workshops catered mainly for the civilian market. The altars show an enterprising approach to design, and skill in the application of decorative patterns and motifs. The workshops are examples of successful small-scale economic enterprise in the Romano-British period.