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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
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Roman intaglio (Dioscuri)
A very badly chipped stone, missing the top left and right of face. The dioscuri stand facing each other in full uniform of helmet, tunic, cuirass and boots. Each holds a spear vertically in the centre, and weapons behind. The twin on the right has a star over his head, as presumably did the other, though this is now lost with a chip. Shows some wear to the edges and the face.
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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