The label ‘cult’ is applied to objects that archaeologists believe were probably important to religious beliefs and practices in the past. Whether these objects were used in rituals or made to symbolise an aspect of a mythological world, their presence in shrines, burials and offerings implies a relationship to the supernatural.

Images or representations of birds and animals on clay and bronze appear in various parts of Europe during the later Bronze Age, but in central, northern and south-east Europe, waterbirds – ducks and geese – are by far the predominant symbol. In northern Europe engravings with the symbolic depiction of birds together with boats are common. Representations of birds are also found as wagon fittings, frequently found deposited with horse harnesses in ritual offerings of metal objects. Although wheeled vehicles had been in use in this region since before 3000 BC, elaborate versions used as ceremonial vehicles only developed in the second millennium BC.

While we may never know the exact meanings of the waterbird and the wagon, it is no coincidence that together they symbolise movement over land, water and through the air, possibly to the world of the dead with whom they are placed.