The Roman doll from Torreparedones (Baena, Córdoba): toy or magical object?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_salduie/sald.2026113176Keywords:
Magic doll, Manipulation of figurines, Performative action, Roman EmpireAbstract
In this brief paper, we propose the possibility that the Roman doll from Torreparedones (Baena, Córdoba) may in fact be a magic doll, given the inconsistencies between some of its features and those of a toy, as well as the similarities to manipulations found in other Roman magic dolls of similar chronology. We analyse their formal characteristics, as well as the significance of the places where they were found, comparing these with other known magical figures and the manipulations they show, in search of performative actions, particularly in the case of those found in the western part of the Roman Empire, most of which date from the late period.
Downloads
References
Bailliot, M. (2015). Magic Figurines from de Western Provinces of the Roman Empire: An Archaeological Survey. Britannia, 46: 93-110. Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0068113X15000112
Ball, A. C. (2019). A New Tipology of Magic Dolls. A thesis submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Classics in the College of Arts and Sciences, Chapel Hill.
Gheorghiu, D. (2010). Ritual Technology: An Experimental Approach to Cucuteni-Tripolye Chalcolithic Figurines. Anthropomorphic and Zoomorfic Miniature Figures in Eurasia, Africa and Meso-America (Dragos Gheorghiu y Ann Cyphers eds.), BAR International Series 2138: 61-72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30861/9781407306797
Medrano Marqués, M. Mª (2022). Muñecos mágicos del Vudú americano: reliquias milenarias. En actas de las V Jornadas Internacionales. El culto a las reliquias, interpretación, difusión y ritos (Las reliquias y sus usos, de lo terapéutico a lo taumatúrgico): 379-397. Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Zaragoza-Ediciones de la Universidad de Salamanca. https://zaguan.unizar.es/record/117284/files/BOOK-2022-014.pdf
Morena López, J. A. (2025). La muñeca romana articulada de terracota de Torreparedones (Baena, Córdoba). Antiqvitas, 37: 107-118. Museo Histórico Municipal de Priego (Córdoba).
Németh, G. (2019). Voodoo dolls in the classical world. Violence in Prehistory and Antiquity. Parthenon Verlag, Kaiserslautern und Mehlingen: 179-194.
Ventura Villanueva, Á.; Morena López, J. A.; Gasparini, M.; Moreno Rosa, A. (2021). Novedades arqueológicas en Torreparedores (Baena, Córdoba: Termas de la Salud y Anfiteatro. Actualidad de la Investigación Arqueológica en España III (2020-2021): conferencias impartidas en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional: 171-193. Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte.
Wilburn, A. (2018): The Archaeology of Ritual in the Domestic Sphere: Case Studies from Karanis and Pompeii. Material Approaches to Roman Magic: Occult Objects and Supernatural Substances: 103-114. Oxbow Books. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvh1dnfj.12
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Salduie

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
SALDUIE retains the copyright of the published articles, authorizing the use, dissemination, transmission and public display of their content, provided that the authorship, url and journal are cited, and that they are not used for commercial purposes. The right to reproduce the articles in hard copy, portable document format (.pdf) or HTML editions of JoS is also reserved. The authors agree with the license of use used by the journal, as well as with the conditions of self-archiving and its open access policy.










