Votive Offering
Votive Offering
Object name: Votive Offering
Date: 700 BC-400 AD
Medium: Earthenware
Object number: C07414
DescriptionVotive offering in form of the 'Sacred Ancile'. Brown and bow shaped with two holes in one side.
The ancilia were 12 sacred shields kept in the temple of Mars. According to Roman myth one ancile fell from heaven during the reign of the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius. It was said that while the shield was intact, Rome would be the mistress of the world. Numa Pompilius had 11 copies made of the shield in order to confuse thieves who wished to steal the original.
The ancilia were 12 sacred shields kept in the temple of Mars. According to Roman myth one ancile fell from heaven during the reign of the second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius. It was said that while the shield was intact, Rome would be the mistress of the world. Numa Pompilius had 11 copies made of the shield in order to confuse thieves who wished to steal the original.