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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
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Roman intaglio (Hero)
The bottom right quarter of the setting only remains, and this with some wear. A naked male figure stands facing right and holding a spear diagonally to the right. The right leg is straight, and the left bent behind it in the Polykleitan stance.
This is one of 88 engraved gemstones retrieved in 1979, mostly from the filling of a large drain beneath the cold hall of the fortress baths. The gemstones would originally have been set in finger-rings, and served as signets and charms or talismans for their owners. They were products of extremely skilled craftsman who worked on a minute scale without the aid of magnification. The gems are engraved with a wide range of deities, personification and symbols.
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Site Name: Caerleon Fortress Baths, Caerleon
Notes: from the site of the frigidarium at the baths
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