Casting mould with relief of armed horseman from Cordoba

Abstract

In this paper we present an unpublished plaque decorated with an armed horseman found in the archaeological site of Cercadilla in Cordoba. The piece, made of calcarenite, is carved in hollow relief, which together with some of its defining features, allow us to identify it as one of the valves of a casting mould, which was used to produce ornamental items of unknown purpose. The cavalryman’s panoply especially the helmet, together with the historicarchaeological context from which it comes, allow us to date it to between the second half of the sixth century and the seventh centuries A.D., and identify the cavalryman as a member of the elite of the Visigoth period.