The Fist-and-Phallus Pendants from Roman Catterick

Abstract

A collection of six fist-and-phallus amulets from excavations at Catterick, North Yorks., is here reconsidered alongside their unique context. The group consists of five amulets from a single infant inhumation and a sixth found separate from the rest. All exhibit features defining them as a clear group of objects; they are all curved with a phallus and a fist making the manus fica joined in the centre by a scallop shell. There are three left-handed and three right-handed fists. The traditional interpretation of fist-and-phallus type amulets relates to military ideas of strength and virility, but in the context provided by this small group it is clear that their apotropaic function should be given additional credence. No other context in Roman Britain directly associates the fist-and-phallus type and infant inhumation.

Flexible phalli: contextualising the magic and materiality of a Romano-British antler phallus from Colsterworth Quarry, Lincolnshire

“…This has included discussion of the associations between phalli and related imagery such as the evil eye, vulvae, scallop shells, fists or horns (see e.g. Plouviez 2005;Parker 2015Parker , 2019Parker , 2020Whitmore 2018), whether the potency of phallic imagery depended upon public visibility (Parker 2017(Parker , 2020Collins 2020), and how the embodied movement of a worn phallus may have been perceived to influence efficacy (Whitmore 2017). These studies share an increasing recognition that individual magical acts corresponded to the specific intent of the creator, and that nuanced individual choices could both reflect and influence the desired outcomes.…”

“…While bone is well-attested as a material deemed suitable for phallic amulets, particularly 'fist and phallus' pendants (see e.g. Greep 1983a, 139-140;Deschler-Erb and Božič 2002;Parker 2015), antler does not seem to have been used for such objects. The combination of antler and phallus on the roundels therefore appears to have been contextually specific, and we can perceive an equally deliberate selection of the material and magical affordances of antler in the creation of the Colsterworth phallus.…”

“…The size of the antler in comparison with phallic amuletic devices such as bone or copper alloy pendants (e.g. Merrifield 1987;Plouviez 2005;Parker 2015;Whitmore 2017) and the lack of a clear means of suspension suggest that it was not intended to be worn on the body.…”

“…See e.g. Greep (1994, 87 and Figure 3); Parker (2015Parker ( , 14, 2017; Collins (2020) 5. Attested in numerous examples in Italy and perhaps also in a relief carving from Maryport in the form of a figure with a multi-phallic head or item of headgear (Coulston 1997, 116-117, Fig 8.8) 6.…”

Touch wood: luck, protection, power or pleasure? A wooden phallus from Vindolanda Roman fort

“…CO22077) or the terminals of fist-and-phallus pendants known throughout the Roman world (e.g. in Britain, five such pendants were found in an infant burial at Catterick, North Yorkshire; Parker 2015). They may also constitute part of the wider practice of manufacturing votive offerings in the form of body parts (Hughes 2017).…”