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Unless otherwise stated, this image is the copyright of the submitter. Contact them for permission to reproduce it. |  | | Description | The Dagenham Idol was found in the Thames mud when the Ford factory was built in the 1930's. Languishing almost forgotten since then, he is now one of the top ten attractions at Colchester Castle Museum. Contemporary with the oldest timber circle at Holme and about 300 years older than Seahenge. It has been suggested that such figures may have topped the posts at Seahenge, but I can see no evidence for this assumption.
It has been suggested that he is a very early representation of Odin - he only has one eye. It may seem incredible that Odin, a "Viking" god" should date back to the Late Neolithic, but there are other wooden carvings of Odin and other Norse gods dating back to the Iron and Bronze Ages in Denmark eg the one eyed Odin from Broddenbjerg with a truly enormous phallus. The Dagenham figure would have had his phallus inserted into the hole clearly seen above. |
| Posted Comments: Thorgrim
(2005-02-12) | Notice the cut marks on the legs. Are they evidence of tribal markings, such as scarification, or perhaps they are symbolic ritual wounds? | rich32
(2005-02-12) | A fascinating figure, looks similar to human representations carved by various indigenous South American cultures. Also looks like a 'grey', but it would be foolhardy to suggest it’s a carving of an alien ;-) | Thorgrim
(2005-02-12) | A "grey" - don't start us on that one! Looks a bit like the house elf in Harry Potter. Some peole have suggested that the figure is androgenous because of the detachable penis - it can be male or female. A more likely reason is that the artist could not find a piece of wood with the required branch in the right place. So he carved the body and fitted the penis (and possibly the arms) as seperate items. I'm going to carve a replica when I find a suitable chunk of pine - make a good garden gnome! |
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