Philip Kiernan Miniature Votive Offerings in the North-West Provinces of the Roman Empire MENTOR. Studien zu Metallarbeiten und Toreutik der Antike Bd. 4, Hrsg. R. Stupperich und R. Petrovszky, Mainz – Ruhpolding 2009

Many archaeological reports or site monographs contain, amongst other things, chapters describing small finds, including models or miniatures of real objects. According to the contexts of discovery, their morphology or their association with other artefacts etc., these miniature objects or models have been interpreted in different ways. The new book presented here offers a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the problems regarding the models and miniatures as votive offerings in a well defined region, between precise chronological limits, suggesting some interpretative solutions for many of these artefacts which usually are widely scattered in museum collections and specialist reports.

   The volume represents the results of systematic research carried out for a doctoral thesis defended in 2007 at the Institute of Classical Archaeology, University of Heidelberg. While defining the notions of votive offerings, models and miniatures, the author considers that the latter are replicas of small dimension of certain concrete objects, having well defined common functionalities, which cannot be used in a practical, regular manner. The analysis is taking into consideration only manufactured objects, covering the period between the end of the Iron Age and the end of the Roman time (roughly 100 BC - AD 400).

   The author includes into discussion miniature pieces and models having a variety of “regular functionalities”: wheels, coins, ceramic and metallic vessels, lamps, tripods and stands, jewellery, tools, votives relating to travel, the so-called “Mithrassymbole” etc. An important part of the book is dedicated to the analysis of the miniatures of weapons, armours and axes. In the case of the latter category, the volume also includes a rich catalogue of these objects.

   The discussion takes into consideration aspects concerning the morphology and the contexts of discovery of these objects (their presence in burials, sanctuaries, ritual deposits etc, or their use as personal adornments), as well as their distribution and chronology. The author also investigates their “functionality” in ritual and social contexts or the ways in which certain Iron Age traditions were preserved or transformed by provincial Roman communities etc.

   In conclusion, Philip Kiernan observes that miniatures and models are not forming a homogenous category of artefacts. On the contrary, many pieces described as models and miniatures were not used in rituals. Thus, in order to evaluate the role of such objects in the provincial society and religion, it is necessary to individually analyse each category in their contexts of discovery. Furthermore, the author offers some coherent solutions to certain problems concerning the significance of models and miniatures, the interpretation of the relations between miniature grave goods and votives, the establishing of the “identity” of those making offerings (individuals or groups) etc.

   Therefore, the book of Philip Kiernan represents a significant contribution to the study of small finds due to the proposed methodology and concrete analysis, but also to the way in which it opens new directions in the investigation of this complex but interesting subject.

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