Ooser Research Paper
A wooden head, the Dorset Ooser had been cut from a single block of timber, with the exception of the lower jaw, which was movable and connected to the rest of the mask by leather hinges.[1] The lower jaw could be moved by pulling on a string which passed through a hole in the upper jaw to connect to the lower.[1] The mask also contained locks of hair on either side of its head, a beard on its chin, and a pair of bullock's horns.[1] Between the Ooser's eyes was a rounded boss, the meaning of which is unknown.[2] The Ooser was hollow, allowing someone to place their own head within it, potentially permitting it to be worn as a mask whilst being supported on the shoulders; there were no holes allowing for the wearer to see while wearing it in this way.[1] The historian Ronald Hutton described the Ooser as "a terrifying horned mask with human face, staring eyes, beard, and gnashing teeth".[3]
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This Wooset was recorded as having been paraded by youths in the Marlborough district until the 1830s, where it was used to mock neighbours whose partners were suspected of marital infidelity, the horns being a traditional sign of cuckoldry.[3] Similar traditions have been recorded in Wiltshire and Somerset, where they can be traced back to at least the early seventeenth
This Wooset was recorded as having been paraded by youths in the Marlborough district until the 1830s, where it was used to mock neighbours whose partners were suspected of marital infidelity, the horns being a traditional sign of cuckoldry.[3] Similar traditions have been recorded in Wiltshire and Somerset, where they can be traced back to at least the early seventeenth