A 2-3 year old child of unknown sex was buried wearing hobnailed shoes and was accompanied by a pottery feeding vessel and this enamelled bronze figurine of a cockerel.

The breast, wings, eyes and ‘comb’ are inlaid with red, blue and yellow enamel, which now appears blue and green. There is a separately moulded tail plate, also enamelled, with ‘openwork’ decoration. The beak is open in the act of crowing.

Only eight finds of this type are known from the Roman world. The cockerel is often associated with the Roman god Mercury who was the messenger to the gods. Mercury also acted as herdsman for the dead, accompanying the souls to the afterlife. This may explain the presence of the cockerel in the grave.