An ornamental architectural detail featuring a stylized representation of an ox or bull skull, often used as decoration on classical buildings.
From Latin 'bucranium' (ox skull), combining 'bos' (ox) and 'cranium' (skull). This architectural term preserves the classical Roman and Greek building vocabulary.
Bucranes appear over and over in classical temple decoration because the ox skull represented both sacrifice (important to ancient religions) and strength, so architects used them to make buildings feel sacred and powerful at the same time.
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