(ORDO NEWS) — In the UK, archaeologists examined the drain of an ancient Roman bath, which was located in close proximity to the famous Hadrian’s Wall.
As a result, at the bottom of the runoff, they managed to find a real treasure, which is of great historical and material value.
According to Arkeonews, the discovery was made near the city of Carlisle.
Archaeologists discovered the treasure at the bottom of the drainage system of the ancient Roman bath, which was located near the wall of Hadrian.
In total, about 30 semi-precious stones, known as intaglios, were found.
However, the find is not a treasure in the usual sense of the word. Scientists believe that the intaglios were lost by their owners about two thousand years ago.
Semi-precious stones simply slipped and fell into the sewers of the ancient Roman bath, and the owners could not get them out.
It is probable that the intaglios found in that period of time adorned the rings of noble persons. For example, Cicero wrote that some Romans wore portraits of their favorite philosophers on their rings.
Intaglios are just stones with portraits engraved on them. Exceptional craftsmanship was required to make them, which is why they were very expensive items in the second and third centuries AD.
However, the stones fell out of the rings, probably because they were poorly fixed.
It is possible that the high temperature and humidity in the Roman bath contributed to this process, since intaglios, as previous studies have shown, were usually attached to the rings with glue.
It is possible that the glue in the bath could soften, as a result of which the stones peeled off the fasteners and fell into the drainage system.
Judging by the description of the stones, one of the bathers lost an amethyst with the image of Venus holding either a flower or a mirror.
Another or another has lost a reddish-brown jasper with the image of a satyr sitting on the rocks at the sacred pillar.
“It’s incredible,” says Frank Giecco, an expert on Roman Britain who led the excavation. “These stones just fell out of the rings of people using the baths. millimeters.
And the size of the largest seal is 16 millimeters. The craftsmanship of engraving such tiny objects is simply incredible.”
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