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Hitching a Lift: Functional Context and Magical Symbolism in a Roman Linchpin from Wootton, North Lincolnshire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2019

Adam Parker  and
Stuart Mckie
Adam Parker
Affiliation:
Open Universityadam.parker@open.ac.uk)
Stuart Mckie
Affiliation:
University of Durhamstuart.n.mckie@durham.ac.uk
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Abstract

A unique linchpin depicting a human thumb, discovered in North Lincolnshire in the 1980s, is here reconsidered and particular emphasis is placed on its potential as an apotropaic symbol. This function is explored in terms of the wider material and literary basis for magical gestures in Roman Britain and the Roman world. The relationship between this image and the space in which it was used is also explored.

Keywords

linchpinthumbLincolnshireWoottonmagic
Type
Shorter Contributions
Information
Britannia , Volume 50 , November 2019 , pp. 375 - 385
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2019. Published by The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies 

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