PREVIOUS   NEXT   CONTENTS   HOME 

3.35.9 Mouse

Six small figurines of mice have been found, five of which show the creature with a round cake or cheese between its paws. Usually he is crouched over the food with his body against the ground, and his tail may curl around to join the rump (875) or lie flat against the back (1127). Figurine 873 from Loughor, West Glamorgan, shows the mouse seated on his haunches with his front paws raised. Mice crouched with food are also found on the Continent (e.g. Kaufmann-Heinimann 1994, 65 and Taf. 56 no. 68 from Winterthur, Switzerland) and one in the same pose as the Loughor mouse comes from Virunum, Austria (Fleischer 1967, 190 and Taf. 130 no. 275). Another example in this position from Kaiseraugst, Switzerland, has the mouse sitting on a shelf (Kaufmann-Heinimann 1994, Taf. 56 no. 67). Mice in the Roman world had a chthonic aspect, as well as being symbols of rebirth or fertility (Lloyd-Morgan 1997, 269).


 PREVIOUS   NEXT   CONTENTS   HOME 

© Internet Archaeology/Author(s)
University of York legal statements | Terms and Conditions | File last updated: Tue Mar 20 2012