Handling Feet: Roman Jugs as an Example of the Significance of Roman Foot-Shaped Artefacts

Abstract

Roman jugs with handles terminating in human feet exemplify artefacts representing feet and footwear. Using a ‘bricolage’ of archaeological theory that includes object biography and contextual archaeology, this paper explores the many facets of significance attached to such artefacts through the case study of foot-handled jugs. By assembling a corpus, patterns of geographical and chronological distribution can be examined. The setting in which the jugs were found provides evidence for their possible significance, with many coming from religious or funerary contexts. Some were deposited in watery settings, maybe as ritual offerings. Foot-handled jugs are often found as part of valuable assemblages. The feet on the handles may be an amusing change from the more usual heads, or they may stand synecdochically for deities such as Isis or Mercury. The feet may also serve an apotropaic function. The jugs demonstrate how varied and multi-layered the symbolism of Roman foot-shaped artefacts is.