A bull torso figurine fragment in coarse red terracotta with a dark red slip. It is missing the horns, ears, hump, legs, and hind quarters. The eyes are punched circles, and at the top of the head is a dark circular scar.
A bull torso figurine fragment in coarse red terracotta with a dark red slip, missing horns, ears and hump, legs and hind quarters. The eyes are punched circles and at the top of the head is a dark circular scar. This last feature is new to the current cataloguer. As observed earlier, these bull and other animal figurines have no known function beyond probably that of the amusement of children. Marked in black ink on the underside with 'Akra 11/30' (ie November 1930). Akra is a great ancient city site in Bannu district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, about 110 miles south of Peshawar. (See Khan, Knox, Thomas, 2000). Early historic period, circa late centuries BCE or early CE. Archaeological context: presumably unstratified and probably from a surface collection dating to November 1930, to judge by the date inscribed on the object. Given by Col D H Gordon (1952/3).
