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Description: | Cast copper alloy figurine of a 3-horned bull from the Roman period. It is solid and is almost complete. It stands 46mm in height at its most complete part and it is 19.5mm wide. It is probably a votive figurine, possibly for some religious activity.
The bull is standing with it's front right leg raised as though about to walk. All the feet are missing from the legs, they are worn at the bottom. The back right leg has broken just below the haunch.
On the shoulders and top of the back of the bull there is some incised detail in the form of small wavy lines, meant to represent the mane. There are traces of silvering on the shoulders and on other parts of the body. It is likely that the entire body was silvered but that it has worn away. There is some corrosion on the surface of the bull and the original surface has been lost in places. This has given it a mottled effect.
The tail is curled back on itself and is laid on the bulls back. The bulls large genitals are clearly visible when the figurine is right-side up. They have been preserved by the legs taking the majority of the wear.
The face is triangular in shape. The snout is cylindrical with a rounded end. There is no sign of marks for the nostrils but the surface is worn so they could have been lost. The eyes are circular and socketed and are 2.5mm deep. When the eyes were cleaned a black substance was seen inside the sockets. It is possible that there was enamel or even stone/glass in them. The central horn is clearly visible but the outer two are broken off just above the ears.
The 2 points which suggest that this figurine is a religious object are the large genitals and the 3 horns. The design of 3 horns has its origin in Celtic traditions where there was a 3-horned bull god, Tarvos Tigaraus (Kenyon; 1943; pp75-76.). Bulls were regarded as important symbols of supernatural power and the fact of having 3 horns (triplication) increased it??s importance (Read, Henig and Cram; 1986; 346-7). In Roman times the 3-horned bull ceased to be the symbol of a god, it was a sign of strength and fertility, a good-luck symbol (Green; 1978; 24). The genitals are the link to fertility and strength, phallic objects were common in the Roman period as good luck symbols.
This type of object represents the Romano-Celtic religious syncretism seen in Gaul and Britain, of combining Roman and provincial symbols. The Romans did not get rid of all previous beliefs, they merely amalgamated the 2 cultures. The figurine is probably a religious object, either for a temple or a house, or maybe part of an ornament for ritual.
This figurines is quite different from other known examples in the style of its design. 2 other examples have been recorded on the PAS database- SF-DCB627 and BUC-668F82- from Suffolk and Oxfon respectively. There are some examples known from exacavated sites and these are from Leicester or further south. The findspot is also very interesting as it is from rural Cheshire in the North West, far away from other known examples and not near a large settlement. | Subjects: | Three-horned bull | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | McIntosh, Frances | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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