NORTHUMBERLAND

(1) Whittington (NCL-2B2752) (fig. 1).Footnote ¹⁸ A copper-alloy zoomorphic brooch of a horse of second- to third-century a.d. date, 33.7 mm long, 26.1 mm high and 4.68 mm thick. The brooch is largely complete, missing only the back leg and the pin. The horse moves right with head lowered. On the head visible features include an outsize and misplaced eye, a small slit mouth and, perhaps, an element of harness above the eye. A full mane, its strands delineated, runs from the base of the neck to the top of the head where the forelock is braided into a topknot. At the shoulder two raised lines run parallel from the mane to foreleg, perhaps rendering a harness element (a breastband?). The slender body ends in an expanded haunch and a short tail. The flank of the horse is recessed, as if for the attachment of some other element (e.g. a saddle and/or rider) but no trace of this is visible. On the reverse a hooked catchplate and a lug with a perforation for a pin survive, with traces of iron corrosion on either side of the lug. Traces of filing are also visible on the reverse.

FIG. 1.

Whittington, zoomorphic brooch (No. 1). Scale 1:1. (Photo: R. Collins; © R. Collins and School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Newcastle University)

Unlike the majority of zoomorphic brooches in horse form, this example does not carry enamelled decoration. No direct parallel for this object could be found, although other horse brooches also lacking enamel decoration similarly render the mane and topknot in detail.Footnote ¹⁹ These other brooches lack a breastband of the type shown on the Whittington example (if this is correctly identified as such); the same feature is, however, visible on some enamelled brooches.Footnote ²⁰ It might be equivalent to the breastband of the type depicted, for instance, on cavalry tombstones, such as the monuments of the first-century a.d. equites Titus Flavius Bassus, Cologne, or Insus, Lancaster.Footnote ²¹ Other well-presented mounts, for example as ridden by the rider-god in the Stow-cum-Quy figurine (Cambs.), also have a flamboyant forelock and breastband.Footnote ²²

DURHAM

(2) Piercebridge (NCL-9FFE11) (fig. 2).Footnote ²³ An elaborate copper-alloy knife-handle, 85 mm long, with a maximum diameter of 16 mm. Much of the handle's surface is decorated with a grid of narrow rectangular cells (three by eight). Enamel decoration survives in alternating cells; the others are now empty, though in some there are traces of a pale green substance, perhaps an adhesive. The enamel-bearing cells in the middle block are filled with seven bands in alternating red and blue. The outer cells with enamel are filled with three thicker bands, again alternating between red and blue. There is no reserve metal between the different coloured enamels. At one end the knife-handle terminates in a circumferential rib followed by a flanged terminal which flattens at the end. At the other, the handle extends to an hourglass moulding, beyond which extend two flat, rectangular, partially preserved plates with corrosion between them. One plate may have a rivet-hole, although this is obscured by the poor preservation of the junction with the blade; the other carries two incised diagonal lines, perhaps traces of decoration.

FIG. 2.

Piercebridge, enamelled knife-handle (No. 2). Scale 1:1. (Photo: P. Walton; © P. Walton)

A substantial number of knife-handles have been documented hitherto by the PAS. Many carry figural decoration, but among these and among excavated examples geometric decoration is also common.Footnote ²⁴ However it has not been possible so far to find a specific parallel to this decoration on a knife-handle, although enamel decoration of this kind in grid or chequerboard format is paralleled among other objects, including vessels, brooches and harness-fittings.Footnote ²⁵

EAST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE

(3) Fangfoss (SWYOR-C74924) (fig. 3).Footnote ²⁶ The head of a copper-alloy cosmetic set (châtelaine), dating from the first or second century a.d. It is 39.6 mm long, 34 mm wide and 9.7 mm thick. The object is hollow and modelled in the form of a chicken, with neck and tail extending from either end of a low hollow base. On either side of the head is an outsize eye formed by a circle of red enamel with a blue central dot. The head carries a worn crest above and terminates in two short worn projections representing the beak and wattle. Two ridges at the base of the flattened tail separate it from the body. The upper edge of the tail is decorated on both sides with rows of small, closely-spaced punched crescents, being better preserved on the left side, where their configuration in triangles is clearer. The function of the circular hole in the centre of the body is unknown. Four prominent ridges run around the circumference of the body, except for the flattened zone beneath the tail. From the base project two sub-rectangular lugs with perforations in which remnants survive of the bar from which the toilet implements would have been suspended.

FIG. 3.

Fangfoss, cosmetic set (No. 3). Scale 1:1. (Photo: A. Downes; © A. Downes)

Two other châtelaines have been documented by the PAS with some or all of the associated cosmetic implements (i.e. nail-cleaner, ear-scoop and tweezers) still attached, one from Little Hadham, Cambs. (BH-1DB7F2), the other from Fincham, Norfolk (NMS-4FE992), both of the ‘bar and shackle’ type.Footnote ²⁷ No close parallel to the Fangfoss artefact has been found among other suspension elements. However, the existence of a suspension element whose form and decoration recall those of enamelled zoomorphic brooches representing chickens, perhaps echoes the better-documented contemporary use of enamelled plate brooches for the same purpose.Footnote ²⁸

WAKEFIELD

(4) Thorpe Audlin (YORYM-D5BBD5) (fig. 4).Footnote ²⁹ An incomplete copper-alloy bow Birdlip brooch, with well-preserved enamelling. It is 57.9 mm long, 15.4 mm wide and 5.7 mm thick (it weighs 14.4 g). It has a near-circular head, below which is a raised collar, and a tapering bow which is poorly preserved towards its end where most of the enamel has been lost. Reserved metal divides the head into cells laid out as a whirligig or similar shape, inlaid with coloured enamels; the cells are approximately comma-shaped and of varying size. They seem to have alternated between red and yellow, but on the top left most of the (putative) red enamel has been lost and to bottom right the red cells join at the edge. The bow is also decorated with alternating red and yellow enamel, organised in four pairs of rectangular cells which decrease in size towards the end of the brooch. Each pair of rectangular cells contains opposing semi-circular settings in different coloured enamels, surrounded by reserved metal; each semi-circular setting contains a central dot, also surrounded by reserved metal and in a different colour. The reverse is undecorated and retains the lug and a portion of the wire spring and catchplate. Although the brooch type is well known, there are no known direct parallels to the decoration of this brooch.Footnote ³⁰

FIG. 4.

Thorpe Audlin, Birdlip brooch (No. 4). Scale 1:1. (Photo: E. Cox; © E. Cox and York Museums Trust)

CHESHIRE

(5) Marbury cum Quoisely (LVPL-39BCF5) (fig. 5).Footnote ³¹ A flat handle of a copper-alloy pan, broken in two pieces but otherwise in good condition. The handle is 155 mm long and 43.53 mm wide at the rounded terminal. From the latter the handle narrows slightly in the centre before widening and bifurcating where it grasps the rim of the bowl with two spreading arms. These arms take the form of elongated bird's heads, separated from the rest of the handle by a triple ridge on both sides; an incised eye decorates each projecting arm before a beak-like element extends along the circumference of the now-missing pan. On the plain base of the handle is a triangular projection which would also have attached to the body of the vessel. At the terminal end were originally four perforations (of which one has been lost) perhaps related to suspending the object.

FIG. 5.

Marbury cum Quoisely, pan handle (No. 5). Scale 2:3. (Photo: V. Oakden; © V. Oakden and National Museums Liverpool)

The relief decoration on the handle is very worn, with a stylised plant element nearer the terminal, with three leaves or similar emerging from its base, and a figure advancing right, separated from the plant element by a groundline. A cloak or other object hangs from the figure's left arm; a curved object, perhaps a bow, rises from the right shoulder. Little can be identified of the facial features. The figure appears to be winged and can therefore be identified as Cupid. This identification is supported by the much better-preserved relief images on two very similar handles from Bonn and Neuss.Footnote ³² Relief decoration documented on other copper-alloy and silver handles of this type is otherwise varied, although the rendering of the projecting arms which attach to the body of the vessel as elongated birds’ heads frequently recurs.Footnote ³³

(6) Acton (LVPL-15E376; Treasure case 2014 T966) (fig. 6).Footnote ³⁴ A conical lead-alloy container, containing a hoard of five silver denarii, issued between a.d. 194 and 198, sealed within by a plain lead disc forming a circular stopper. The container has a near-circular mouth, measuring 45.2 mm by 40.2 mm (external dimensions); the cavity within it is 33.2 mm deep (internally) and the object weighs 50.5 g. The mouth has a wide, uneven rim, apparently formed by the lead alloy being folded or pushed back on itself. The cone tapers from the mouth to a rounded flattened terminal c. 5 mm in diameter, not quite centred. The terminal may have been cut off or broken; a perforation in the cone also indicates more recent damage. Among the variety of containers used for coin hoards no direct parallel for an object of this kind is known.Footnote ³⁵

FIG. 6.

Acton, lead container and denarii hoard (No. 6). Scale 1:1. (Photo: V. Oakden; © V. Oakden and National Museums Liverpool)

(7) Horton-cum-Peel (LVPL-F1F6CC) (fig. 7).Footnote ³⁶ An almost complete copper-alloy disc brooch with well-preserved complex millefiori enamel decoration. It is 29.7 mm in diameter and weighs 7.8 g. Set within a raised border, the decoration is arranged within a somewhat irregular chequerboard grid in eleven rows and eleven columns. Within each there is a maximum of eleven and a minimum of five squares. The individual squares are also in chequerboard form, with those based on larger and smaller squares set out alternately. The larger squares are laid out in a three by three grid within a red border and the smaller in a five by five grid within a dark blue border. On the back is a double-lug loop from which a stub of the hinged pin projects and a surviving catchplate.

FIG. 7.

Horton-cum-Peel, disc brooch with millefiori enamel decoration (No. 7). Scale 1:1. (Photo: V. Oakden; © V. Oakden and National Museums Liverpool)

Disc brooches of this type date to the later second and third centuries a.d. Several other brooches of this type, both whole and fragmentary, have now been documented, including PAS examples from Standlake, Oxon. (BERK-9EC5C6), Claverdon, Warwicks. (WAW-D50D57), and Wighill, N Yorks. (SWYOR-0F6696). An almost identical excavated example is reported from Alcester.Footnote ³⁷ They are part of a wider group of dress and harness items as well as other artefacts bearing similar decoration.Footnote ³⁸

HEREFORDSHIRE

(8) Stretton Grandison (GLO-B172CF) (fig. 8).Footnote ³⁹ A copper-alloy strap-mounted and skirted terret of probable early Roman date. The terret is 87 mm long and 60 mm wide; it weighs 134.9 g. The terret comprises two main elements, the ‘skirt’ and the near-circular loop. The former is perforated on both sides with a pair of holes. It rises at the edge into four upward- curving triangular projections, each ending in a spherical terminal. Beneath the ‘skirt’ is an integral hoop. At the junction between ‘skirt’ and loop is a double row of stamped dots. From this and on either side further double rows of dots extend to the tip of the skirt's side terminals. Above the loop is an integrally cast decorative element with two short angled arms forming a triangular projection. At the base of both arms is a flat round knop, at the apex is a further spherical terminal. Rows of stamped dots run along the arms of the triangle and around the collar at the base of the terminal.

FIG. 8.

Stretton Grandison, terret (No. 8). Scale 1:1. (Photo: K. Adams; © K. Adams and Bristol City Council)

This is a further example of an elaborate terret recorded by the PAS. Others include the example with horse-head terminals from Chollersbury, Bucks., and the double terret from Calbourne, Isle of Wight, with a croissant-like skirt.Footnote ⁴⁰

STAFFORDSHIRE

(9) Swindon (WMID-4CEB20) (fig. 9).Footnote ⁴¹ An incomplete copper-alloy Roman stud or mount, in the form of a human head or mask, probably from a horse's chamfron (face-guard). It is 20.7 mm long, 22.0 mm wide and 10.2 mm deep (and weighs 6.4 g). A fringe of curls separates the head into two elements, a head piece in the form of a high cap above and a face, perhaps of a youth, below. The peaked head piece may be a ‘Phrygian’ cap of the type worn by divine or heroic figures, including Attis, Mithras and Ganymede. The features are simply rendered on a rounded face, with large round circles for the eyes or irises, a triangular nose and a crudely modelled mouth. The rear surface is uneven and corroded. At its centre an integral copper-alloy attachment spike is present, of which the end is now missing.

FIG. 9.

Swindon, stud or mount (No. 9). Scale 1:1. (Photo: T. Gilmore; © T. Gilmore and Birmingham City Council)

A mount recorded on the PAS database from Calbourne, Isle of Wight (IOW-60FC80), takes a similar form, though it may be part of a larger object. A plaque carrying a very similar motif was also found during recent excavations of a deposit of Roman military metalwork at Caerleon legionary fortress and is believed to be part of a cavalry chamfron (face-guard for a horse).Footnote ⁴² The same motif also occurs on other military metalwork, especially parade armour, reinforcing the possible connection of the Swindon and Calbourne finds to this milieu.Footnote ⁴³

LINCOLNSHIRE

(10) Kirton in Lindsey (LVPL-1F8252) (fig. 10)Footnote ⁴⁴ A small copper-alloy figurine of Minerva, standing 59 mm tall. One arm is broken off just below the shoulder but the object is otherwise near complete, though worn. The figure looks to her right and wears a high-crested helmet. The facial features are worn, though a linear mouth is visible. The left arm is held at an angle from the body and the hand, bent backwards at the wrist, holds a spherical object. What survives of the right arm suggests that it was extended at a right angle to the body, perhaps originally holding a spear. The goddess is clothed in a short-sleeved chiton which is secured with a belt, and also gathered below the waist. To front and rear its folds reveal the movement of the legs beneath, the left foot forward, the right turned towards the right of the figure.

FIG. 10.

Kirton in Lindsey, Minerva figurine (No. 10). Scale 1:1. (Photo: V. Oakden; © V. Oakden and National Museums Liverpool)

Minerva is among the commonest of female deities represented as a figurine to have been documented from the province, including examples recorded by the PAS.Footnote ⁴⁵ The pose of the Kirton Lindsey figure, especially the marked twist to the right, is unusual however, and difficult to parallel in figurines of Minerva documented in Britain and beyond.

OXFORDSHIRE

(11) Beckley (BERK-F1499B) (fig. 11).Footnote ⁴⁶ A copper-alloy figurine of Mercury wearing a silver torc and in muscular athletic form (78.24 mm high and weighing 64.8 g). The left arm has broken off above the elbow, but the figurine is otherwise in good condition. The thick-necked god stands with his weight on his right leg; his left is bent, in contrapposto pose. He is naked apart from a cloak draped over his left shoulder; its folds are more clearly visible to the rear of the figure. In the palm of his left hand he holds a purse. The facial features are worn, but modelled in some detail, including the rendering of the orbit (upper rim), lid and pupil for the eyes, long nose and full lips. The god has a luxuriant cap of hair, thicker at the fringes with its strands delineated. Two breaks on the top of the head indicate the position of the now missing wings. The silver torc around the god's neck is a simple piece of round-sectioned silver wire, with flattened and pointed terminals decorated with hatching, perhaps recalling serpentiform jewellery.Footnote ⁴⁷ The musculature is modelled in some detail, especially on the figure's chest and abdomen, although the pectoral and trapezius muscles connect awkwardly to those of the upper arm. A fringe of pubic hair above the groin and nipples are also clearly rendered.

FIG. 11.

Beckley, Mercury figurine (No. 11). Scale 1:1. (Photo: A. Byard; © A. Byard)

Mercury is the commonest occurring figurine from Roman Britain, represented by more than 100 examples in Durham's corpus and with numerous instances now documented by the PAS.Footnote ⁴⁸ In general the Beckley figure conforms to the common iconography for Mercury but examples from the province more often show the god with petasos and cloak and the purse suspended from the right hand. The Beckley figurine conforms to a type which is better represented on the Continent, especially in northern and eastern Gaul, where the god is naked, with the occasional exception of a cloak, as in this instance, and holds the purse in the palm of the right hand rather than suspended from it.Footnote ⁴⁹

The torc is an occasional attribute of Roman deities. Separate torcs are documented in association with two other Mercury figurines from Britain, a silver example with the well-known group from St Albans and a gold example from Richborough.Footnote ⁵⁰ They are more commonly documented as an integral part of the figure. Examples include the ‘Fortuna’ figure from Kettlebaston, Suffolk (SF-302EF1), a ‘mother goddess’ from Henley Wood and a male deity (?) from Vevey, canton Vaud.Footnote ⁵¹ The torc may complement a votive offering through embellishment of the figurine with a more costly material; it may also be an attribute inherited from a pre-Roman deity with which Mercury is assimilated in this case.Footnote ⁵²

(12) Wallingford (SUR-AC2EFB) (fig. 12).Footnote ⁵³ An enamelled zoomorphic brooch in the form of a running stag, 29.76 mm long and weighing 4.58 g. The animal's long head is well modelled, with open mouth and large oval eye framing a central dot. A small ear is incised below the antlers which curve together to form a crown-like loop. The neck is disproportionately large and the body elongated, expanding at the shoulder and rump; the legs are mostly missing and a triangular projection indicates the creature's sex. The back of the curving neck is notched and the incisions extend to the back and rear haunch but the principal decoration comprises two enamelled panels. The larger extends from the head to the forelimb and along the body, the smaller is circular and fills the rump. Within the larger panel, above the forelimbs, is a reserved circular setting. On the flat back the catchplate largely survives along with the hinge, the latter containing the remains of an iron pin.

FIG. 12.

Wallingford, zoomorphic brooch (No. 12). Scale 1:1. (Photo:D. Williams; © D. Williams)

Similar examples are documented from pre-War excavations in Wroxeter and widely across continental Europe; this brooch may be of Continental workmanship and of second- to third-century a.d. date.Footnote ⁵⁴ Other stag brooches of varying form are documented among PAS finds, though without close parallels to this.Footnote ⁵⁵ Similar representations of stags also occur in other media, for instance figurines; the example reported from Kirkby la Thorpe, Lincs. (LIN-E63C92) is not atypical of small-scale pieces.Footnote ⁵⁶

HERTFORDSHIRE

(13) Sarratt (BH-98132A) (fig. 13).Footnote ⁵⁷ A largely complete copper-alloy figurine in the form of a standing bull, 58.4 mm long, 47.7 mm high, 18.3 mm wide and weighing 130.6 g. The solid-cast object is of realistic appearance, with well-modelled physique, but with little surviving surface detail. Wear to the stubby head of the animal means that facial features are scarcely visible, the clearest surviving element being the eyes. The left horn is a little better presented than the right; between the horns are traces, perhaps, of tufts of hair. Below are regular oblique lines which may be further curls or a fabric band around the forehead. Beneath the lower jaw and neck sags a prominent dewlap; on the underside of the animal the penis is clearly visible. The mass of muscle at the shoulders and thick neck lend the beast a powerful appearance; the rump is similarly muscled. Shoulders and rump taper into straight legs, though only one of these (left rear leg) is complete. A tail hangs between the back legs, terminating a short distance from the surviving hoof.

FIG. 13.

Sarratt, bull figurine (No. 13). Scale 1:1. (Photo: J. Watters; © J. Watters)

Bull/bovine figurines occur sporadically among the animal figures documented as late Iron Age and Roman period small bronzes in Britain.Footnote ⁵⁸ Other standing bull or bovine figures documented by the PAS include examples in soapstone from Atcham, Shrops., and in copper alloy from Weaverham, Cheshire (LVPL-CB6114), Watlington, Oxon. (BUC-668F82), and Holbrook, Suffolk (SF-DCB627), in all three cases with three horns.Footnote ⁵⁹ Small hollow copper-alloy figures of recumbent animals have been recorded from Marple, Stockport (LVPL-904BD3), and from Calbourne, Isle of Wight (IOW-2CA926), the latter with a dorsuale.Footnote ⁶⁰ In 2014 a fragment of a white marble statue of a cow, more than 370 mm long and lacking its head, perhaps of first- or second-century date, was discovered during drainage works in Lincoln's northern suburbs. This may be a Grand Tour souvenir rather than an ancient import (LIN-2B67D5).

WEST BERKSHIRE

(14) Winterbourne (BERK-B60E47) (fig. 14).Footnote ⁶¹ A near-complete but worn copper-alloy figurine of a chubby, naked, winged boy with a large bird, perhaps a goose. The statue, weighing 167 g, is 59.9 mm high and the disc that serves as the base is 35.6 mm wide. The boy, head inclined slightly to the right, holds the goose's neck with his right hand and places his left across its shoulders. The boy's left leg bends at the knee with the lower leg beneath the upper; the right leg extends forward, bending a little at the knee. The goose, with its plumage schematically rendered, appears to stand on the boy's left leg, its long neck reaching up towards him with its beak beneath his chin. The modelling of the pair is relatively crude, the boy being a squat figure with a broad back from which two small wings protrude below the shoulders. Shoulders and limbs are disproportionately large. The head is much worn, but the figure appears to wear a cap beneath which a fringe of curls emerges on all sides. Of the facial features, almond-shaped eyes, broad nose, and small mouth are visible. The action and mood are difficult to interpret; the boy may be struggling with the goose, trying to wring its neck perhaps, but the gesture may be more affectionate.

FIG. 14.

Winterbourne, ‘boy with goose’ figurine (No. 14). Scale 1:1. (Photo: A. Byard; © A. Byard)

This is one of many Roman period copies of a well-known Hellenistic genre figure linked to the ‘Boy with Goose’ sculpture attributed by Pliny (N.H. 34.84) to Boethos of Chalcedon and of third-century b.c. date, though ancient textual sources on the identity of the sculptor are not easily reconciled. The subject group may have a longer history and the relationships between child and animal vary from the kindly to the murderous. Other versions of the pair take both monumental and smaller-scale forms, the latter including examples in silver, terracotta and bronze.Footnote ⁶² Like the Winterbourne instance, some other pairings assimilate the child with the figure of Cupid through the presence of wings. Another miniature example of the same sculpture from Britain, not previously recognised as deriving from this Hellenistic genre group, also presents the child in the form of Cupid. This is one of several figurines from the Lexden tumulus, Colchester, constructed in the last decades of the first century b.c.Footnote ⁶³ The latter were imported, but in the case of the Winterbourne figure the style may suggest that it was made in Britain. Whatever its purpose, whether a piece for demonstrating cultivation and connoisseurship or an image from a household shrine, this is another significant example of an image originating in Hellenistic genre sculpture now documented by the PAS.Footnote ⁶⁴

MILTON KEYNES

(15) Moulsoe (WMID-0503C1) (fig. 15).Footnote ⁶⁵ The base of a copper-alloy jug handle, dating to the first to second centuries a.d. The fragment is 49.9 mm long, 32.0 mm wide and 22.1 mm thick. The fragment comprises mainly the figured terminal where the handle is attached to the body of the vessel, as well as a short length of the ridged handle. The front of the terminal is cast in the form of the head of a male youth, whose eyes look outwards and downwards. The hair is curly and thick, rising in exuberant locks from the temples with its strands differentiated. The ivy leaves visible in the hair on the left and right sides of the head are part of a likely wreath. The face is full and rounded, with silver-inlaid eyes (and reserved circular depressions for the pupils) and a nose and lips in low relief, made less prominent through wear.

FIG. 15.

Moulsoe, jug handle (No. 15). Scale 1:1. (Photo: T. Gilmore; © T. Gilmore and Birmingham City Council)

Generally similar faces and masks have been documented as handle terminals among other PAS finds, for example at Brockley, Suffolk (SF-452BA2), Codford, Wilts. (WILT-7E0308), and Chislet, Kent (KENT-6E5FE6), as well as on older finds of complete vessels from Canterbury and Stanfordbury, Beds.Footnote ⁶⁶ The masks used as vessel escutcheons for the pans associated with the workshop of the Cipii are more similar in spirit to that at the base of the Moulsoe handle.Footnote ⁶⁷ In this case the ivy leaves indicate the specifically Bacchic connotations of the object.

NORFOLK

(16) Woodbastwick (NMS-800B35) (fig. 16).Footnote ⁶⁸ An unusual copper-alloy mount in the form of the bust of a youthful male. It is c. 80 mm tall and weighs 142.3 g. The youth wears a wreath of ivy leaves, with a gap at the centre and a winged cap, a petasos. The latter perches atop a luxuriant cap of hair, the thick curls of which frame the face. The facial features of the clean-shaven youth are well modelled. The ties of the wreath descend behind the ears to hang down as far as the folds of the tunic-like garment the figure wears. The eyes are outsize and slightly asymmetrical; their eyelids, irises and pupils are rendered in some detail. The nose is broad and the lips are full, while the ears are set a little too low on either side of the head. The flat-backed object is hollow, indicating that this was probably a furniture mount; the small hole on the top of the cap may relate to the same function.

FIG. 16.

Woodbastwick, mount with hybrid figure (No. 16). Scale 1:1. (Photo: A. Marsden; © Norfolk County Council)

This is one of many recent figural finds from Roman Norfolk. The sensitive treatment of this subject, together with the emphasis on the pupils, may suggest a Hadrianic or Antonine date for the mount.Footnote ⁶⁹ The youth bears traits associated with Mercury and Bacchus, the petasos for the former, ivy leaves for the latter. Mounts documented from furniture and other objects occur in multiple figural forms. These are frequently divine and Bacchic in character, although generic youths also occur.Footnote ⁷⁰ Bacchic examples from Britain include objects from Littlecote, Berks., Tarrant Hinton, Dorset, and Heversham, Cumbria (LANCUM-1747E5).Footnote ⁷¹ No specific parallel to this combination of attributes of both deities on an object of this type could be found.

ESSEX

(17) Roxwell (ESS-33D3A2) (fig. 17).Footnote ⁷² An incomplete copper-alloy figurine, probably of a male deity. It is 64.9 mm high, 48.1 mm wide (maximum extent) and 17.3 mm thick. It weighs 65.8 g. The figure stands with arms extended to the sides and bent at the elbows, the left upwards, and the right downwards, both broken just after the elbow. The legs are also broken below the knee but enough survives to suggest that the right leg was straight and the left leg bent. The figure wears a hooded cloak which ends in a peak or crest. The cloak is seemingly fastened at the right shoulder and hangs stiffly down the figure's back (with a hole pierced in it at waist height on the figure's left side). Its folds are schematically rendered by a near parallel ‘V’-like double moulding from the shoulders to the base. A zig-zag runs along both long edges, indicating a decorative pattern or fine edging. On the figure's right shoulder is a short quiver, at the top end of which arrow feathers are visible. Beneath the cloak the figure wears a pleated tunic bound at the waist with a substantial belt. The disproportionately large head and its facial features are simply modelled; the face may be fringed with curls (or the lining of the hood).

FIG. 17.

Roxwell, hunter figurine (No. 17). Scale 1:1. (Photo: K. Marsden; © Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service)

No direct parallel has been found, although in its form and attributes this object echoes the representations of several other deities, personifications and other figures. While the wearing of a hooded cloak is shared with the Genius Cucullatus, for example, and the ‘countryman’ from Trier, the cloak worn by the Roxwell figure is different and in other respects he differs from them.Footnote ⁷³ In its arms and clothing the Roxwell figure recalls the ‘hunter god’ identified from sculptural representations in London and the Cotswolds, perhaps a syncretised version of Apollo and an indigenous god.Footnote ⁷⁴ However, unlike the ‘hunter god’, the Roxwell figure does not wear a Phrygian cap and the arrangement of the arms shows that he cannot have been drawing an arrow from a bow. Instead the cloak and pose recall some personifications of winter, best known in Britain from the seasons mosaic at Chedworth villa, Glos., in which the hooded figure holds a hare in its right hand and a branch raised in its left.Footnote ⁷⁵ The Roxwell figure may, therefore, be a variant representation of one of these divine beings, or alternatively render a local god by drawing on the traits of multiple deities. Other examples of probable divine figures documented by the PAS with attributes from varying sources include ‘Fortuna’ from Kettlebaston, Suffolk (SF-302EF1), and a ‘Minerva-Fortuna’ hybrid from Hinxworth, Herts. (BH-ED9F44).Footnote ⁷⁶ Alternatively the Roxwell figure may be a genre representation of a huntsman, of which other examples are occasionally recorded.Footnote ⁷⁷

KENT

(18) Elmsted (KENT-FE87D8) (fig. 18).Footnote ⁷⁸ A copper-alloy tripod mount in the form of the bust of a young male figure, his head turned slightly to the right. The mount is 78.7 mm long, 37.4 mm wide, 28.5 mm thick and weighs 134.8 g. The head has finely modelled hair and facial features, supported on a thick neck. At the crown of the head is a thick cap of hair, enclosed by two rows of thickly curling locks. Strands of hair fall between ear and face and the forelock curls high above the forehead. The facial features are well-modelled but worn. The bust, flat at the back, rises from a calyx, separated from the hollow rectangular base by three transverse mouldings. There is a large irregular hole on the back, created by the breaking away of a likely integral hook which is no longer attached. The hole reveals that the mount is hollow; iron staining can be seen within where the mount connected to the leg of the iron tripod to which it would have been attached.

FIG. 18.

Elmsted, tripod mount (No. 18). Scale 1:1. (Photo: J. Jackson; © Kent County Council)

Other tripod mounts have been documented by the PAS across England. Examples from Pocklington, E Yorks. (YORYM-EC06D2), and Greetwell, Lincs. (LIN-1632D1), represent youths with curly heads of hair who are more easily identified as divinities. Other examples are reported from Rodmell, Sussex (PUBLIC-F077EF, a male bust) and Pickhill with Roxby, N Yorks. (LVPL-CB8B04, a female bust).Footnote ⁷⁹ Further examples similar to the Elmsted bust are reported from Trier and Bois-et-Borsu (Liège, Belgium); the latter example is associated with a very well-preserved tripod from a rich second-century a.d. burial assemblage.Footnote ⁸⁰

(19) Eynsford (LON-B48905) (fig. 19).Footnote ⁸¹ A small copper-alloy figurine of Mercury, reclining on a flat base. The figurine is 52.8 mm long, 37.4 mm tall and 11.4 mm thick; it weighs 54.9 g. The god wears a winged traveller's hat (petasos), holds a caduceus in his left hand and a purse in his right. He wears a cloak over his left shoulder which extends down the left side of the rear of the figure to the feet. A fringe of curly hair emerges from beneath the cap at front and back. The facial features are crudely modelled, comprising two irregular depressions for eyes, a somewhat bulbous nose and an asymmetrical slit for the mouth. The god's anatomy is also summarily rendered; little muscular detail can be seen on the torso, part of which is obscured by the outsize and claw-like right hand and purse. Of the left arm only the hand is visible, grasping the caduceus halfway along its shaft. The right leg covers most of the lower left. The metal on the base is slightly roughened, perhaps suggesting the figurine may have been attached to, or mounted on, another object.

FIG. 19.

Eynsford, reclining Mercury figurine (No. 19). Scale 1:1. (Photo: K. Sumnall; © K. Sumnall and Museum of London)

Representations of Mercury are the commonest of all deities from the province. The god is usually depicted standing; seated or reclining figures such as this are rare, but other examples occur in similar forms, including some figurines from London as well as from continental Europe, although these hold a libation bowl rather than a purse in their right hand.Footnote ⁸²

HAMPSHIRE

(20) Tangley (HAMP-EC91E2; 2014T12) (fig. 20).Footnote ⁸³ A late Roman gold finger-ring with gold filigree and nicolo intaglio (an onyx with a blue surface on a dark ground). The ring measures 22.3 mm by 21.6 mm and weighs 5.6 g. The bezel and hoop have broken on one side but the ring is otherwise complete. The bezel has an oval setting for the intaglio, framed by an openwork rim. The shoulders of the hoop are decorated with gold filigree ornament in the form of two volutes, each terminating in a bead. The volutes spring from the join between the shoulder and the rest of the hoop. Between them is a further bead. The hoop is otherwise decorated with two parallel grooves. Rings from hoards at Silchester and Hoxne carry similar filigree decoration.Footnote ⁸⁴

FIG. 20.

Tangley, ring and intaglio (No. 20). Scale: 1:1. (Photo: K. Hinds; © K. Hinds and Hampshire Cultural Trust)

The intaglio, which has a flat upper surface with a bevelled surround, depicts a standing naked adolescent with crossed legs, leaning on a short spiral column; the short wings which sprout from his shoulders identify him as Cupid. He leans his left arm on the column, his right being raised and holding a torch which he will later use to burn Psyche manifested as a butterfly.Footnote ⁸⁵ Martin Henig (pers. comm.) notes the similarity of the figure and his pose to that of Cupid portrayed on a first- or second-century red jasper in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (although here Cupid leans against the column which is in front of him).Footnote ⁸⁶ He also observes similarities in the execution of the Tangley gem with that of Ring 5 from the Silchester hoard and tentatively attributes both to the so-called ‘style calligraphique’ characteristic of some fourth-century examples, for example a very large pale nicolo in Paris depicting Dea Roma dated to c. a.d. 330.Footnote ⁸⁷

DORSET

(21) Sutton Waldron (DOR-695A14) (fig. 21).Footnote ⁸⁸ A copper-alloy casing for a padlock in the form of a human head. It is 31.4 mm long, 19.2 mm wide and 15.7 mm deep, and weighs 14.3 g. The front of the padlock takes the form of a crudely rendered human face or mask, probably female. Hair swept backwards is rendered by short incisions from the arched hairline. The disproportionately large lentoid eyes are thickly outlined on either side of a triangular nose. The mouth is a short horizontal slit. The keyhole is on the left side of the face and the right side is pierced by a small circular aperture below the hairline. There is a rectangular opening at the top of the head which is framed on three sides by a ridged moulding. In this opening the hinge to join the missing backplate may have sat. At the base of the casing is a small flat projection with a curved lower edge, which projects towards the front of the lock. The lock is almost identical to examples documented by the PAS in North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.Footnote ⁸⁹ A small number of further casings very similar to the PAS finds are also documented in private collections.Footnote ⁹⁰ The close resemblance between the Sutton Waldron casing and similar examples suggests that they are the likely product of a single workshop. Being intended to house the whole of the lock mechanism, they are much deeper than other more commonly documented figural locks, on which a stylised and often elaborate mask forms the front plate of the padlock.Footnote ⁹¹

FIG. 21.

Sutton Waldron, padlock casing (No. 21). Scale 1:1. (Photo: C. Hayward Trevarthen; © Somerset County Council)

SOMERSET

(22) Somerton (SOM-6EA483) (fig. 22).Footnote ⁹² Part of a copper-alloy rod-shaped handle, circular in section, likely to be from a pair of Roman uvula forceps, probably from a staphylagra, i.e. a toothed-jaw type rather than a staphylocaustes (un-toothed type). What remains of the handle from terminal to break is 75.8 mm long and 5.8 mm in diameter (at its widest). The terminal takes the form of an elegant baluster finial with a circular moulding where it connects to the handle. Another circular moulding in the form of a double ridge occurs further along the handle. From better preserved examples it is likely that a two to three centimetres length of this handle has been lost beyond the break.

FIG. 22.

Somerton, forceps handle (No. 22). Scale 1:1. (Photo: L. Burnett; © L. Burnett and Somerset County Council)

The forceps, which cannot be dated more precisely than to the first to fourth centuries a.d., were probably used for uvulectomy (removal of the uvula at the back of the mouth) and haemorrhoidectomy. 26 examples of forceps of this type were documented across the Empire more than 20 years ago. Other British finds include complete examples from Caerwent and Dorchester, a jaw fragment from Leicester and variants from Colchester (2) and Ancaster.Footnote ⁹³ PAS finds comprise an increasingly important component of Roman period objects with a surgical (and toilet) function in Britain, although they have yet to be synthesised. Examples include other forceps, for example a pointed jaw forceps of which the findspot (SOMDOR-D963B7) is not far from the Somerton find, and possible scalpel handles, for example octagonal-facetted handles from Scarning and Burgh Castle, Norfolk (NMS-8801B7; NMS-4157A2).Footnote ⁹⁴