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Roman intaglio (Mercury)
The agate intaglio is opaque, in a highly domed setting, and with a surface made crazed and discoloured by the corrosion of the ring. The crown is fairly worn and is now a chocolate brown. The intaglio depicts Mercury standing naked facing front and left, holding a moneybag in his outstretched right hand and a caduceus in the left, with dependent drapery behind him. In front and at his feet stands a bird, probably a cockerel.
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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