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Roman intaglio (uncertain)
Still set in an iron ring (81.79H/6.8) Half of the gem remains - the face is obscured by iron corrosion.
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
Archaeology & Numismatics
Item Number
81.79H/4.86
Find Information
Site Name: Caerleon Fortress Baths, Caerleon
Grid Reference: ST 33 91
Collection Method: excavation
Date: 1978-1979
Notes: from the site of the frigidarium at the baths
Acquisition
Donation, 6/8/1981
Measurements
(): length / mm:not recorded
(): width / mm:not recorded
Material
nicolo paste
Location
In store
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