MOUNT

An incomplete 'bird' mount of Roman date (c. AD 50 - 300), probably an eagle, possibly a raven or crow. The bird is sub-triangular in plan with protruding neck, and irregular in profile. The bird is stylised and is designed to stand upright with its wings part folded to its body; this would have formed a triangular platform on the back of the bird with the wings meeting on top of the tail, however one of the wings has been lost. The neck and head are outstretched and terminate in an open beak holding an object, possibly a globe or seed. The mount has been decorated with incised 'feathers' from the top of the head, across the back, chest and legs of the bird; on the back they become elongated, forming the feathers of the wings. Underneath the chin and tail of the bird are incised lines which imply smaller feathers. The mount has been abraded on the edge of the surviving wing and along the tail. There are indentations where the legs begin but they have been broken; the mount would have been fixed to a piece of furniture or similar type object as a decorative element. The bird is black in colour with a red/orange patina where the surface has been abraded. A magnet has some reaction to the mount indicating that there is an iron core.

The PAS database has similar objects from Broadland, Norfolk (WAW-7EC54A) and Hillhampton, Worcestershire (WAW-A729E3) and Kettering, Northamptonshire (NARC-BE3893). Other eagle figurines are illustrated in Green (Green, M. 1976 A Corpus of Religious Material from the Civilian Areas of Roman Britain B.A.R. No. 24) Plate VIII Nos. k and l.

It measures 57.6mm long from the beak and to tail, 25.6mm wide from wing to wing, 38.1mm in height and weighs 62.5grams.