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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
Golden copper-alloy mask, possibly Medusa. The mask has a square iron shank cast into the back and is probably a fitting from furniture.
The mask was described by GC Boon as “A lively provincial piece of work. The staring eyes and parted lips, together with the serpentine convolution of the hair descending on either side, suggest a Medusa as the subject.” However, there are no snakes or wings which usually characterise Medusa, therefore, Boon suggests this is a Maenad.
Maenads performed frenzied, ecstatic dances and were believed to be possessed by the god Dionysus (Greek god of fertility, wine and intoxication). Followers of Bacchus, the Roman equivalent, were called Bacchantes.
Source: Excavation in the Legionary Civil Settlement, Caerleon. (Unpublished) by GC Boon, Assistant Keeper of Archaeology, National Museum Wales, Cardiff.
Site Name: Bear House Field, Caerleon
Notes: field adjoins the south-west side of the legionary fortress : 'A' material is from the culvert. From the Civil Settlement.
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