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Description: | Votive sickle, length 19mm width 4mm at the attachment loop, width of the sickle blade 1.5mm, thickness 4mm. The cross section of the blade is rectangular with rounded off corners. The blade has a steep curve which narrows towards the point, the point is broken and is an old break. The blade would have probably curved round about 210 . The other end has an attachment loop, this section narrows along the plain of its thickness whilst it expands width ways there is a loop in the centre, again this terminal missing, broken across the widest point of the suspension hole. There are a series of linear incised lines on the back of the suspension loop. The artefact is in a fair condition, it has an uneven surface with a dark green patina, which is worn.
Miniature votive artefacts are well known in Roman Britain with many various objects represented in a diminutive form, such as swords, phallic objects animals etc. Miniature axes and spears have been found at the Romano-British temple of Woodeaton in Oxfordshire (Green, 1994, 11-13), and a similar sickle was excavated in Colchester, which was dated to the 2nd century (Crummy, 1988, 123).
One theory behind these artefacts is that perhaps they representation of the intended god in which the individual is whishing favours from, therefore an sword is given to a god of war, in which form perhaps this artefacts may have been given in order to insure a good harvest?
M J Green, 1994, The Gods of Roman Britain, Shire.
N Crummy, 1988, Colchester Archaeological Report 5 - The post Roman small finds from Excavations in Colchester 1971-85, Colchester Archaeological Trust. | Subjects: | sickle | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Adams, Kurt - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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