Casgliadau Arlein

A small, crude, female figurine, the lower part hollow; imperfect at the foot; battered. The left hand holds vertically some kind of attribute, from its position perhaps a branch rather than a cornucopiae, but the rendering is too poor for certainty. G.C. Boon (Draft Report, No. 1) notes the rarity of lead figures from Britain and on the Continent, concluding that the explanation may lie in lead's use for defixiones and other maleficent inscriptions wheras gold and silver were widely used for beneficent charms. He notes that it is a great step to suggest, from this, that this Caerleon figurine, and the Calverton (Notts.) figure to which Prof. J. M. C. Toynbee (1964) Art in Britain Under the Romans, 356, alludes, a seated female with hands below the breasts, are underworld goddesses, but not entirely improbable.

See also, Bailliot, M. and Symmons, R. (2012) Note from the Roman Palace at Fishbourne (Sussex): A Roman Magic Lead Figurine? Britannia 43, 249-260.

See also, Bailliot, M. (2015) Roman Magic Figurines from the Western Provinces of the Roman Empire: An Archaeological Survey. Britannia 46, 93-110.

Regarding this Caerleon figurine, on 11/01/2016 Magali Bailliot wrote, in response to an email containing an image of the front of the figurine from Dr Mark Lewis (Senior Curator) following the publication of Magali's 2015 Britannia paper:

"The location in a Roman road-drain could indicate that the figurine doesn’t come from a 'primary deposit' but from another place. But (even though the context is not ritual) this road-drain could be underlined. As you know lead curse tablets are quite often found in locations seen as an entrance into the underworld (wells, rivers, pipes..) and other figurines come from pipes (G. Souville, " Figurines magiques trouvées dans le collecteur principal du decumanus maximus de Volubilis", Bulletin d’Archéologie Marocaine, 2, 1957, 180, pl. II, 3 et 4). Moreover aspects of the Caerleon figurine seem to be magical, with bend legs (and the use of lead). It’s small in comparison to other figurines and on that point it's quite similar to the Fishbourne figurine : 4.3cm tall."

The figurine has two vertical v-shaped incisions in top of its left shoulder. That these are ancient is evidenced by the lead corrsion product(s) within them and the presence also of soil. They perhaps indicate a deliberate mutilation of the figure (in the form of two blows of similar impetus from an object with a v-shaped profile, possibly a blade), if not ancient accidental damage? It is possible that the figure's right arm was fashioned with the intent of it extending downwards and holding or supporting a circular item, but poor definition and loss along the edge of the figurine renders this uncertain.