Carlisle Roman baths: Gems recovered from drains

BBC News ^ | January 31, 2023 | unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

More than 30 semi-precious stones lost in a Roman bath house 2,000 years ago have been recovered from its drains.

The remains of the bath house were uncovered in May 2017 during work to move Carlisle's Cricket Club's pavilion that was damaged during Storm Desmond...

More than 700 finds, including pottery, weapons and coins have been uncovered...

...the artefacts, some made of amethyst, would have dropped out of rings as the glue keeping them in place was affected by the steam of the baths.

The engraved gems, known as intaglios, are only a few millimetres in diameter and ended up being flushed into the drains when the pools and saunas got cleaned...

A number of hairpins, also in good condition, were also recovered from the drains and it is hoped all the finds will eventually go on display in Carlisle's Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery.

[SunkenCiv]

It is believed the gems dropped out of the signet rings of bathers.

Anna Giecco

[smokingfrog]

Ohhh. Very pretty.

[Williams]

first ancient artifacts to actually look pretty.

[SunkenCiv]

Hope you're having a great weekend.

The other GGG topics added since the previous digest ping, chrono sort:

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• Jewish-Roman War: Nero & the Year of the 4 Emperors [02/03/2023]
• Japanese Researchers Uncover Seven-Foot Iron Sword from Ancient Burial Mound [02/02/2023]
• Archaeologists Uncover 5,000-Year-Old Tavern In Iraq [02/02/2023]
• Detectorist Finds Tudor Jewellery Inscribed With Initials of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon [02/02/2023]
• Major discovery shines light on how mummies were made [02/02/2023]
• Scientists Discover 319-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Brain [02/01/2023]
• The Calendar Act of 1750 and eleven lost days [02/01/2023]
• Ancient Goo Spills The Secrets of How The Egyptians Mummified Their Dead [02/01/2023]
• Why did the Chicken Cross the Road? Chickens and Forgotten History [01/31/2023]
• Cryptic lost Canaanite language decoded on 'Rosetta Stone'-like tablets [01/31/2023]
• How A Spectacular Piece Of Pedantry Created An International Enclave [01/30/2023]
• Did the Romans think that the Planets were Gods? [01/30/2023]
• 3,600-year-old hoards may contain the earliest silver currency in Israel and Gaza [01/30/2023]
• Ancient Roman residences with 'pigeon towers' discovered in Luxor, Egypt [01/30/2023]
• 1547: Not Thomas Howard, because Henry VIII died first [01/29/2023]
• Archaeologist Hails Possibly 'Oldest' Mummy Yet Found in Egypt [01/26/2023]
• Artificial intelligence study determined a painting with mysterious origins is likely a Raphael, researchers say [01/24/2023]

[LibWhacker]

Amethyst, I thought, big deal. So I looked it up...

Amethyst was as expensive as ruby and emerald until the 19th Century, when Brazil’s large deposits were discovered. It was believed to prevent intoxication...

[sit-rep]

Cool...

[PGR88]

More than 700 finds, including pottery, WEAPONS and coins have been uncovered...

Weapons in the public baths? Now that's ghetto.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Not really.

Public baths were often gyms as well.

You went in and worked out with your trainer, cleaned up and got a nice massage. Then a snack, possibly a casual hook up... the entertainments offered at the baths were extensive.

[Bob434]

[[It was believed to prevent intoxication...]]

LOL- must not have been very popular then

[gundog]

[SunkenCiv]

It was a simpler time...

[SunkenCiv]

Even more remarkable, “only a few millimetres in diameter”.

[sit-rep]

Indeed... A millimeter is 1/32 of an inch... So “a few millimeters is just over a 16th and with a Polish!?? 2000 years ago!?? Ya that’s something to be impressed over!

[SunkenCiv]

nice.

https://search.brave.com/images?q=giant%20Amethyst&source=web

[SunkenCiv]

https://i.redd.it/qce4g539m9y51.jpg

[SunkenCiv]

Well, people were shorter then... ;^)

[sit-rep]

Lol

[Verginius Rufus]

Carlisle is near the western end of Hadrian’s Wall. Woodrow Wilson’s mother was born there.

[livius]

Didn’t know that, thanks.

[livius]

Probably a lot of things dropped out of settings when people were in the baths...big, small, whatever. It’s very interesting to see that their lives in this respect were similar to those of anybody who goes to their local or hotel gym w. sauna, LOL!

One of the things that has always irritated me, btw, is that the Muslims get credit for the baths in Spain...but the Romans had been doing this long before the Islamic invasion until which time Spain had been the most important Roman colony, the birthplace of emperors, scholars and even playwrights, both in pagan and Christian times...and now nobody recognizes this.