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Description: | Fragment of copper alloy ritual furniture. The find is one leg from a miniature ritual stand. Complete, the stand would have been in the form of a four-legged stool with a flat top and sometimes ritual stands were two or three tiered. It is suggested that models were used as an economic and convenient represetation of life-size objects. The leg is slightly curved with a central rib on the outside giving a roughly triangular section. The foot of the leg is fractionally wider than halfway up where it tapers slightly before widening out into the two sides of the stand. Although there is not much of the stand remaining, intricate floreate and scroll decoration can be seen on the sides. Other published examples of this type of stand are finely decorated with red or blue champleve enamel and it seems likely that this example would have once been enamelled although this does not survive. The find weighs 6.85g and measures 45.61mm in length, 21.6mm in width and 6.9mm in thickness.Similar model stands have been recorded from Piercebridge (this is a rare stone example), Chesters, Corbridge, South Shields, and Colchester. Although the specific function of these stands is not known, several of the examples from southern Britain have been found on temple sites perhaps indicating a ritual function. Several examples also have a central hole in the top possibly for a miniature vessel to sit in. The examples found with any association appear to indicate a 3rd-4th century date. Examples can be seen in Miranda Green's article 'Model Objects from Military Areas of Roman Britain' Figure 3.14 and Hattatt's 'Ancient Brooches and Other Artefacts, Fig. 36, No. 238.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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