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Roman intaglio (symbols)
Complete, but chipped. Three distinct symbols and a four lettered inscription. At the top are clasped hands; below is a cornucopiae with a globe beneath and surmounted by a raven; to the left is a hippocamp, facing right, with possibly a parrot beneath (when viewed on its side). Above the clasped hands is the inscription. The stone is very heavily worn both on its front, where details of its engraving are partly obscured, and on its rear.
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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