| Found on a region of Hadrian’s
Wall, this small votive tablet presents three figures, nearly identical,
in high relief. Posed frontally, the figures stand against a flat
background on a thick ledge. The top edge of the tablet has been
broken off in such a way that it has preserved the tip of the hood of each
figure, but the stone is worn away in between. Thus, the top edge
consists of three peaks at the top of the head of each figure.
The cucullati wear cloaks that end at the hip so that almost all
of the legs are shown. The legs, dressed in tight stockings or nude,
are shaped by relatively natural musculature. It is difficult to determine
the nature of their shoes. The short cloaks are very flat across
the chests of the figures and lack detail. The cloak hides the left
arms of the figures, but the right arms are exposed from the shoulder from
a slit in the cloak. In their right hands, the gods each hold an
identical object. The object is commonly believed to be a symbol
of fertility, but the actual identity of the object is disputed.
Toynbee believes the oblong object is an egg,
a common symbol of life, immortality, and fertility. Heichelheim
suggests the possibility that the objects are egg-shaped stones or pieces
of lead or fruit, although he states that the right hand of the left-hand
figure is missing, while in this image it is clearly not. Despite
the weathered state of the carving, enough of the facial features of the
figures that peak from circular openings in their pointed hoods to indicate
they are of standard Celtic form. The eyes are almond shaped and
the noses are rectangular. Toynbee considers the carving to be of
local manufacture, but the dedicator is unknown.
Bruce,
1874, pg. 403, no. 786
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