Dagenham Idol of Scot's pine

myminifactory

The choice of this enduring wood, the harm inflicted upon the figure's eye and its ambiguity all hold considerable weight. In later Norse mythology, for instance, the revered tree Yggdrasil was an evergreen, providing a framework for the cosmos and a staircase connecting the sky, earth, and underworld. The god Odin suspended himself from the tree and sacrificed one of his eyes to gain wisdom from the springs emanating from its base. As a shaman, Odin was also perceived as having fluid sexuality. Viewed in this manner, the genital area of the much earlier Dagenham figure would also have allowed it to be seen as convincingly feminine or, with the addition of a wooden peg or penis, as plausibly masculine. Discovered at Rainham Marshes in Dagenham, the original is now housed in the Colchester Museum.