Roman Rock Crystal Hydria, 1st Century AD

A carved crystal vessel with loop handles and palmette detailing; with later, probably 17th-18th century AD silver-gilt lid and chain. 256 grams, 12.5cm (5").

Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, mentions a number of sources for rock crystal, such as Asia Minor, Cyprus, Portugal and the Alps, though he states the best came from India. The stone was fashioned into vessels in Bronze Age Greece as well as Cyprus, Asia Minor, Egypt and Mesopotamia. The use of rock crystal for vessels fell out of fashion in Classical Greece but was revived in the Hellenistic period where it was associated with the wealthy elite in such cities as Alexandria and Antioch.

In the Roman Empire rock crystal was highly valued and according to Pliny, Livia, the wife of Augustus, dedicated a block weighing one hundred and fifty pounds on the Capitol; he also mentions a wealthy Roman woman paying one hundred and fifty thousand sestertii for a single rock crystal dipper. Suetonius mentions that Nero had two crystal cups carved with Homeric scenes that he broke when he received the news that the Senate had called for his execution. The high value placed by the Romans on rock crystal can be seen in the high degree of carving that the surviving pieces have, and their relative rarity compared to other stone vessels.

Roman Red Jasper Gemstone Depicting Mēn, 2nd-3rd Century AD

Mēn was a lunar god worshipped in the western interior parts of Anatolia. He is attested in various localised variants, such as Mēn Askaenos in Antioch in Pisidia, or Mēn Pharnakou at Ameria in Pontus.

Mēn is often found in association with Persianate elements, especially with the goddess Anahita. Lunar symbolism dominates his iconography. The god is usually shown with the horns of a crescent emerging from behind his shoulders, and he is described as the god presiding over the (lunar) months. Strabo describes Mēn as a local god of the Phrygians. Mēn may be influenced by the (feminine) Zoroastrian lunar divinity Mah, but his male sex is apparently due to the Mesopotamian moon god Sin.

An Unusual Roman Mosaic Glass Bottle, 1st Century AD

Formed from slices of a cane with an opaque white circle in a translucent light amber-colored matrix to form a squat unguentarium with a short cylindrical neck and pear-shaped body.

This small bottle is an unusual mixture of ancient glass making techniques with sections from a cast mosaic cane that were fused together and then blown to create the final shape. Usually such vessels are formed from layers or opaque white and blue or purple glass or four to six larger sections as with gold-band vessels.

 Roman Green Glass Unguentarium, Early 3rd century AD

Roman, Byzantine and Islamic Glass Bracelets

Roman Gold Ring With Agate Cameo Depicting a Sleeping Dog and Greek Inscription, 1st-2nd Century AD

Roman Blue and White Marbled Glass Unguentarium, 1st Half of the 1st Century AD

UK's oldest hand-written document 'at Roman London dig'

Roman tablets discovered during an excavation in London include the oldest hand-written document ever found in Britain, archaeologists have revealed.

The Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) said it had deciphered a document, from 8 January AD 57, found at the dig at Bloomberg’s new headquarters.

The first ever reference to London, financial documents and evidence of schooling have also been translated.

Over 700 artefacts from the dig will go on display when the building opens.

According to MOLA, the tablets reveal the first years of the capital “in the words of the people who lived, worked, traded with and administered the new city”. 

Director Sophie Jackson said the findings had “far exceeded all expectations” and would allow archaeologists “to get closer to the first Roman Britons”. Read more.

Egyptian Bronze Ba-Bird Figurine, Roman Imperial Period, 2nd Century AD

The falcon body has the human head of a pharaoh. He wears the double-crown of which only the red crown of Lower Egypt is preserved, the upper part is missing.  He also wears a broad collar with a wedjat eye pendant.

Please see this article for more info on the Ba-bird.

Roman Ribbed Glass Bowl with White Trailing, 1st Century AD

Roman Iron Folding Knife with Carved Bone Panther Handle, 2nd-3rd Century AD

Roman Pavonazzetto Marble and Nero Antico Marble Statue of a Kneeling Barbarian, C. 98 - 117 AD

Roman Amuletic Military Belt Mount Set, 1st Century AD

The silver belt-mount sets with VTERE FELIX (“use with luck”) text are associated particularly with Roman troops in the Danubian region. The text was believed to be apotropaic, warding off harm from the wearer of the belt.

banias

photographer

michael itskovich

from tiberias from israel 

Rare Roman Mystery Cult Lead Plaque, C. 100-300 AD

The plaque contains a complex iconography of divine figures and Mithraic symbols, probably associated with Thracian or Dacian beliefs of the Lower Danube region where this specimen was found.

A little bit more about these mysterious plaques can be found here.