Object type
bucranium
Culture/period
Materials
bronze
Technique
moulding
Mint
Production date
1 / 100
Current location
MASPG
Archaeological site
Empúries
Township
Escala, l' (Europa, Espanya, Catalunya, Girona, Alt Empordà)
Dimensions
84 x 68 x 23 mm
Description
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Bucranium (bull's head) of bronze, from Empúries (l'Escala, Alt Empordà) and dated to the 1st century AD. It represents the head of a bovid adorned with garlands, and on the reverse it has two circular perforations that allowed it to be fixed as a decorative element to a frieze.
The iconography of the bull adorned with garlands evokes the sacrifices called “suovetaurilia”, in which a pig, a lamb and a bull were offered. This ritual was considered a ritual of purification and was one of the most important sacrificial public ceremonies in the Roman religion.
© Museu d'Arqueologia de Catalunya - Girona
Omeka ID
3183