The jewels that the ancient Romans lost down the drain – 05/16/2023 – Science

It was in the drain that British archaeologists recently discovered 36 artistically engraved semi-precious stones in an ancient bathhouse on the site of a Roman fort near Hadrian’s Wall in Carlisle, England (UK). The colored carvings – engraved gemstones – likely fell from signet rings worn by wealthy 3rd-century bathers and got stuck in stone drains.

The delicate carvings, made from amethyst, jasper and carnelian, range in diameter from 5 to 16 millimeters – larger than a pencil eraser, smaller than a dime. Some bring images of Apollo, Mars, Bonus Eventus and other Roman deities that symbolized war or good luck. Others display Ceres, the goddess of fertility, the Sun and Mercury (trade). An amethyst represents Venus holding a flower or a mirror. A reddish-brown jasper features a satyr sitting on rocks next to a pillar.

How and why these stones were lost is the subject of some debate among classicists. After six years of archaeological detective work that provided a tantalizing glimpse into Roman Britain, Frank Giecco, technical director of the Carlisle project, believes he and his team have solved the mystery.

Historically, two types of engraved gemstones were mounted in rings: indentations, where designs are engraved as a depression in the surface of the gemstone; and cameos, with designs projecting from the background, images in high relief.

The carving tradition dates back to the Sumerian period in Mesopotamia, where figures were carved by hand from soft stone. Around 3400 BC, flat and cylinder seals were pressed and printed in wet clay.

These became popular in Minoan and Mycenaean Greece, Persia, Egypt and Rome, where they became fashion objects; statesman Cicero noted that people wore portraits of their favorite philosophers on their rings, a tradition that has not survived in today’s electronic stores.

TO THE SPA

Excavation at the Carlisle Cricket Club began in 2017 and quickly revealed a bathhouse that “was truly colossal in scale,” Giecco said.

The spa was built along the River Eden and close to the Roman fort of Uxelodunum, also known as Petriana, which was situated safely behind Hadrian’s Wall, the northern border of the empire. Hadrian, the Roman emperor, ordered the construction of the wall in 122 AD to keep out the Caledonian tribes.

Stationed in Uxelodunum — now a prosperous suburb — was the Petrian Wing, a large regiment of elite cavalry. An important civil settlement — later Luguvalium, or Carlisle Romana — grew up just to the south.

The main bathhouse building, built around 210 AD, had sandstone walls 1 meter thick. The baths were rebuilt in the 4th century^O and were still in use in the 5th century^O; some parts were later rebuilt in wood and were perhaps still standing in the 12th century when the site was excavated for building stone.

The region remained strategic. “We found evidence of the sieges of Carlisle in 1645 and 1745 during the English Civil War and the Jacobite Rebellion,” said Giecco. In the early 20th century, the site was converted into tennis courts.

BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR VALUABLES

Upon entering the bathhouse in the 3rd century, the first stop was the “apodyterium”, or changing room, where one removed everything but the bathing sandals, necessary to protect the feet from the heated floor. Prosperous patrons had slaves to guard their belongings; the poorest bathers paid the attendants.

Some may have taken their trinkets to the pools to prevent valuables from being stolen. “Swimmers knew the risk of buds falling out,” said Giecco. “But the theft from the lockers was so bad that they kept valuables in them anyway.”

If a thief made off with your jewels, you could ask the gods for justice, using a curse tablet: a priest would scrawl a message, sometimes backwards or in code, on a tablet of lead or other metal, and then throw it into the mineral waters.

In 1979 and 1980, a large quantity of curse tablets were recovered from the hot springs of Aquae Sulis —now Bath, England—, many of them listing the crime, the alleged offenders and the suggested punishment. “May the one who took Vilbia from me be as liquid as water,” says a curse.

TAKING OFF

Carlisle’s jewelry was found along with over 700 items, including 105 glass beads, ceramics, weapons, coins, clay figurines, animal bones, tile stamped with the imperial mark, and about a hundred hairpins. Similar discoveries were made during the excavation of bathhouses in Caesarea, Israel, and Bath.

The presence of hairpins suggests the gems’ owners were likely female, Giecco said. And dips in the baths could have loosened the jewelry’s adhesives, like the birch bark resin, and caused the metal frames to expand and contract. In the humid environment, the Roman elite may have emerged from their leisurely baths unadorned. Stones were probably thrown down the drains when pools and saunas were cleaned.

“Bathers may not even notice until they get home. Gone are the rings, stay the fingers,” said Giecco.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves