Collections Online
Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
Advanced Search
Roman intaglio (clasped hands)
With clasped hands from which sprout two ears of corn. The rendering is coarse, with the fingers of the hands, three on each, given by straight lines.
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.
Collection Area
Item Number
Find Information
Site Name: Caerleon Fortress Baths, Caerleon
Notes: from the site of the frigidarium at the baths
Acquisition
Measurements
Material
Location
Collections Online is updated regularly, but please confirm that an object remains on display before making a special visit.