A panther from Holloway Street

This little cast bronze statuette was found in a disturbance above the Roman military burials at the Valiant Soldier site in Holloway Street, and probably derives from one of them, being one of the grave goods placed with the cremated remains of a soldier.

The panther is galloping, with mouth open and tail tucked between his legs. Although the legs are lost, the ribs of the body are visible. Panthers appear in funerary contexts elsewhere; they were also associated with the Roman cult of Cybele.

Acknowledgments: RAM Museum Exeter Archaeology