Roman terracotta figurines (‘immaturi et innupti’)

These are clay figurines lacking any finishing or polychromy. Moulds were commonly employed to manufacture these figurines. A mould of this kind has been recorded in the Roman pottery factory of El Rinconcillo in Algeciras, not far from Gibraltar, although it is not known if this is where our figurines were produced as they were very common and abundant items in Roman times. It is difficult to pinpoint their age given that they were found out of archaeological context, meaning that they could date from anything between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. Several such figurines, representing female figures and children, were also found in disturbed levels during archaeological excavations at the Gate of Granada.

These terracotta figurines have been given various interpretations. They have been related to ‘lares loci’ or domestic gods and have also been considered children’s toys. However, a more detailed study of their characteristics, contexts and written sources, directly relate them to funerary practices – in particular those relating to children and young women who have not yet reached marriageable age. They symbolize both a life truncated before maturity, and purity (‘immaturi et innupti’). These figurines would be left at the tomb by friends and family during the funeral ritual.