Carved footprints in Italica

Footprints carved in marble. The object was found in the Roman amphitheater in Italica (province of Sevilla, Spain).

There are more finds of this type. Those are referred as – plantae pedum. As it turns out, the Romans deposited these types of objects as gifts to deities – it was suggested that those were footprints of deities. It was supposed to be a symbol of two guardian deities – Itus and Reditus – who were responsible for reaching the destination successfully and a happy return from the journey.

For example, such votive gifts were offered to Nemesis – the goddess of revenge and justice – who was considered the patron of gladiators. Another object of this type was dedicated to Isis and deposited in a theater in the same city.

A similar object was found in Rome. Below, the object dated to the 3rd century CE. Currently, it is in the Capitoline Museums.