The Zitherixon Wooden Idol is a prehistoric wooden figure found in 1867 by workmen digging ball clay at Zitherixon, Kingsteignton, near Newton Abbot, and one of the most fascinating exhibits at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum. [Closed temorarily for refurbishment.]
At the time of writing the booklet 'Treasures of Ancient Devon' (Devon Books, 1997) the authors tell us that only seven examples of these prehistoric wooden figures from the British Isles survive, spanning a period of more than 2500 years.
NB: The authors do not refer to it as an 'Idol' - that was my own description of it, after reading about the Colchester figure on Meg P.
Quoting direct from the booklet:
"According to one 19th century account the figure was discovered 'in a standing position 23 feet below the surface against a black oak tree which was embedded in mud, sand and gravel and lying on the deposit of large stones which overlies the clay here.'
"The figure, which is 34cm tall, is carved from the centre of a branch of oak. It is clearly male with stubby legs, long body and very long neck. A horizontal hole through the neck may once have held detachable arms. Professor Bryony Coles of Exeter University has recently undertaken a study of this figure and the other wooden figures surviving elsewhere in the British Isles. There has been great uncertainty about their date, so Professor Coles initiated a programme of radiocarbon-dating at Oxford University, taking tiny samples from each figure. The Kingsteignton sample was datable to c. 426-352 BC.
"In examining the formal characteristics of these figures, Professor Coles noted features common to several of them, such as sexual ambiguity, a tendency to asymmetry and scoring of the left side of the face. These are not characteristics of the Kingsteignton figure, whose purpose remains unknown. It is tempting to see it as having some symbolic significance; it was found against the remains of an oak tree, and we know thet trees and woodlands were objects of veneration in the prehistoric period."
It was loaned to the museum by owners Messrs. Watts, Blake, Bearne and Co. plc.
(I lived in Kingsteignton from 1988-2000, and have been in the Newton Abbot area - including Teignmouth, the harbour for clay exports - since 1978. The Bovey Basin is one of the best sources of ball clay, which goes into ceramics, mainly of the bathroom variety. WBB was/is? one of the biggest employers in the area for many years. Try Googling Watts Blake Bearne, or Bovey Basin for more info.)
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