ROMAN MINIATURE OBJECT

43

A silver Roman miniature or votive axe dating to AD 43-250. The axe comprises a wedge shaped head which is fairly flat at the top but more curved at the bottom. The butt end is flat. The axe appears to be decorated with a line round the edges, except the cutting edge, of the blade. The shaft is circular in plan and narrows to a point at the bottom.Green (1981, 258) suggests that in a Romano-Celtic context, votive axes may have been good luck charms, although it should be remembered that interpreting their ritual function is difficult and this is just one possibility for their use.