|
Date: |
|
Description: | A cast copper-alloy Roman terminal in the form of an eagle's head.
The head is hollow and the cavity contains the iron attachment tang. The head is decorated with feathers delineated both by moulding and incisions. The eyes are moulded with a punch for each pupil. The eagle grasps a spherical object within its open beak.
The head has broken off at the neck of the bird, resulting in the loss of any extra details. The break is worn and irregular.
The surface of this object is pitted and has an olive green patina, although it has survived very well.
Perhaps the closest parallel found for this artefact is another well rendered terminal with iron/lead core from Chichester illustrated in Down 1978 (296, 297; ref. 47). As its description states, such objects tend to be identified as Roman cart fittings to which the reins were tied when the vehicle was stationary. Examples for which the body element is complete suggest that the socket would continued for circa 40mm and would have had a hooked projection, probably in the form of a swan's head (ex. Crummy 1983, 106; ref. 2545; Webster 1958, 71; fig. 3, ref. 37). These fittings seem to have a relatively standardised design, characterised by the sphere within the eagle's beak; variable would seem to be the number of petals and the form of the socket - circular (ex. Webster 1958, 95, 97; fig. 8, ref. 232), hexagonal (ex. Crummy 1983, 106; ref. 2545), heptagonal (this object), octagonal (Down 1978, 296, 297; ref. 47).The distribution and date of similar pieces suggests a military connection and a 1st-century date (Webster 1958, 75, where full references are given), although as more examples come to light such a generalisation may come to be refined.
Indeed, with this example and others - SF-97C2C8, WMID4346 and HAMP-E88954 from West Ilsley (Berkshire) (the closet parallel) - the Portable Antiquities Scheme has started to make a contribution to the distribution pattern. | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | 1
100 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
|
|