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5. Chronology

The dating of figurines is a particularly difficult theme to address. As already mentioned above, few figurines come from known, dated contexts, and even then many of the contexts are residual or from late in the site use. In fact, only 76 out of the 1000 figurines considered here come from dated contexts. One must also take into account that, as religious or possibly heirloom items, figurines are likely to have been in use for many years, and it has been suggested that the wear found on some pieces results from the repeated handling of the figurines (e.g. Henig 1996a, 131). The problem of dating is not unique to Britain but is also common on the Continent, where a number of authors (e.g. Braemar 1995, 242; Zadoks Josephus-Jitta 1984) have pointed out that contexts can provide a date for the last use of the object, but not when it was made, and that many published catalogues do not include dates for the majority of the pieces owing to a lack of dating evidence (Galestin 1995, 253).

Figurines have been found on three pre-conquest sites in Britain. Boar 262 is from Gaer-fawr hillfort but has no context details. Boar 346 was recovered from Mound XIII at Meare Lake Village, a site which dates to the last three centuries BC (Gray and Bulleid 1953). Cupid 68, Boar 98 and Base 1151 were excavated from the grave at Lexden tumulus which has been dated to c. 15-10 BC (Foster 1986). While the boar was really the only figurine type found in the British Iron Age, many of the Iron Age examples are somewhat stylised in their depiction and the Lexden example stands out as being very naturalistic. In combination with the Cupid figurine this group, in the burial of a high-status native male, indicates their importance as objects imported into Britain from elsewhere in the Roman Empire at the end of the 1st century BC.

The wider introduction of metal figurines into Britain by the Romans means that early contexts are more likely to contain figurines that were produced closer to the date of deposition. Fourteen figurines have been found in 1st-century contexts, the details of which are listed in Table 12. As might be expected, many of these contexts are associated with the early military occupation of Britain. Other finds come from contexts of 2nd to 5th century date, but one then has to start considering how the date of the find relates to the context date, and it is likely that many figurines in 4th-century contexts are actually earlier in date. In a few cases a figurine might closely match another from a dated context. Thus the three Dioscuri from Colchester (150), Wroxeter (408), and Canterbury (641) might all be given an early date, although only the example from Wroxeter comes from a 1st-century context.

One change that occurs in the mid 3rd or 4th century is that groups of figurines associated with religious sites start to appear, such as the material from West Hill, Uley and Ashwell. The temples at Brigstock, Lamyatt Beacon and Lydney are of a similar date and so the finds from these sites, even if lacking context data, should be included in this group. The lack of contextual data means that the majority of finds rely on comparison with other figurines and stylistic dating. The dating of figurines in this manner is extremely difficult, and its merits have been much debated (e.g. Braemar 1995; Galestin 1995; Zadoks-Josephus Jitta 1984). Some figurines were based on earlier models, such as the long thin Hercules with his raised club which was originally an Etruscan type, but was definitely produced in the Roman period (Boucher 1976, 27). However, as Pitts (1979, 28) points out, the simplicity of figures such as these means that they may bear a resemblance to earlier, equally simple Etruscan figures. The Aust figurines (512 and 1170) are thought to be of Iron Age date, but their lack of context means that their attribution has been based on style and their origin is much debated (Cunliffe 2010, 472; Henig 1996a, 131; Stead 1984, 60). Thus careful consideration has to be used when looking for types on which figurines might be based.

The details of style, and stylistic dating, cannot be considered in detail here, but a few general points regarding style and context can be made. It is the case that many of the highly classical figurines imported from the Continent are given early dates, but among the figurines of provincial style there is little evidence that the quality of the figurines worsens over time. Figurines of Classical 3 and Stylised 1 quality are the most common types in all contexts dating to the 1st to 4th centuries. Fourth-century contexts have the widest range, including highly classical and naïve figurines. This is most likely the result of the presence of many figurines in destruction deposits.

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