Like so many animals in Celtic and Roman symbolism, the stag had several important roles and was associated with both hunting and fertility (Green 1989, 136-7). Stag 1184 from near Brighton with his fine set of antlers, strongly built body and mane show the stag as a magnificent, virile creature. The deeply socketed eyes probably once held glass insets, and suggest a date early in the Roman period. Other examples depict a more slender creature (414). Two figurines show the stag in a rather curious position with his hind and forelegs to one side of the body, the hoofs touching. Both are rather stylised figures, but while Stag 688 from Saham Toney, Norfolk, has a fine set of antlers, figure 845 from Stratford St Andrew, Suffolk, has only the stumps of antlers.
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