What the heck is a lek?
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
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A Roman-British copper alloy figurine of Vulcan, the Roman god of metalworking and fire. Vulcan was a master craftsman who crafted Jupiter’s lightning bolts and Mercury’s winged helm.
A Romano-British copper alloy figurine depicting Vulcan, God of metalworking and fire, found by a metal detectorist in 1989 in North Bradley, and purchased by The Wiltshire Museum.
Vulcan was a master blacksmith who is sometimes depicted with hammer, tongs and anvil. He crafted Jupiter’s lightning bolts and Mercury’s winged helm and his work was much desired by the other Gods. He was well respected for his talents amongst the Roman deities but he was said to be the ugliest of the Gods. In some versions of his story, his mother Juno was so upset by his ugliness when he was born, she threw him off Mt. Etna in disgust, causing him to lose the use of one of his legs.
KS2 – Roman Empire and its impacts
Non-statutory examples: Romanisation of Britain – impact of culture and beliefs looking at how Roman Gods became part of British belief systems and they stylistic differences between statues of Vulcan carved in Romano-Britain versus other areas of the Roman Empire.
This figurine is similar to a group found at Southbroom, Devizes, in 1714 (now in the British Museum) and other figurines from Motcombe and Henley Wood. It has been suggested that the distinctive depictions of Graeco-Roman and Romano-British gods and goddesses, which similarly combine classical and British Iron Age influences, may show that the figurines were all products of a single, or small number, of workshops in the south of Britain during the early Roman period.
This item was chosen alongside other Romano-British figurines during one of our youth panel sessions where we looked at what stories we should be telling in museums and what they would change in our current museum to make it a more enjoyable experience for young people like them. One youth panel member thought these figurines were an interesting glimpse into the life of people in the past.
Males great bustards perform spectacular courtship displays, gathering at a ‘lek’ or small display ground to try to impress the females.
The great bustard has a dignified slow walk but tends to run when disturbed, rather than fly.
The hen-bird on display at The Salisbury Museum was one of the last great bustards to be eaten in the town!