(1999) An unusual umbo from the Ljubljanica river (SI)

instrumentum n°9 Bulletin du Groupe de travail européen sur l'artisanat et les productions manufacturées dans l'Antiquité Editorial Mit der Zeit hat sich Instrumentum aus einem Informationsblatt über Bibliographie und Einzelstücke zu eine Institution entwickelt. Die Vielfalt der angebotenen Themen, Daten und Bibliographien zieht viele Interessenten an, die, einerseits, Kleinfunde des Alltags veröffentlichen möchten, andererseits durch das Bulletin eine rasche Informierung erwarten. Michel Feugère und nicht zuletzt, den zahlreichen Vertretern und Korrespondenten in den einzelnen Staaten ist zu verdanken, daß ein so reichhaltiges Bulletin entstehen kann. Ausserdem ist mit der Reihe Monographies Instrumentum ein wichtiger Grundstein angelegt, der uns ermöglicht, Probleme zu den archäologischen Kleinfunden rasch bekanntzumachen bzw. zu lösen. Da ich einmal für eine interdisziplinäre und polyhistorische Arbeit im Allgemeinen sowie für die Berücksichtigung der mittelalterlichen und neuzeitlichen Forschungsergebnisse plädiert habe, möchte ich Heute vor allem darauf hinweisen: Grundlegende Kenntnisse zu den Kleinfunden und dem alltäglichen Leben machen es erstmals möglich, eine übergreifende Geschichte der dunklen Vergangenheit zu schreiben. Vom 14. bis zum 17. April 1999 fand im kleinen, hauptsächlich durch seine schöne renovierte mittelalterliche Burg bekannten Marktort Podsreda/Slowenien, unsere zweite Instrumentum-Tagung unter dem Titel “Eisenverarbeitung und Eisenwerkzeuge in Europa von den Anfängen bis Heute” statt. Dabei wurden 17 Referate und 2 Posters vorgestellt. Die Referenten stammten aus Spanien (1), Frankreich (1), Luxemburg (1), Italien (1), Schweiz (2), Polen (1), Slowakei (1), Slowenien (4), Ungarn (1), Rumänien (4) und Österreich (2). Weitere Teilnehmer kamen aus Deutschland sowie aus Croatien. Die meisten Themen behandelten die Eisenverhüttung und die Eisenwerkzeuge der Eisen- und Römerzeit. Noch im Jahre 1999 wird Instrumentum die Vorträge in Podsreda monographisch, unter dem Titel “Early Iron, Smiths and Tools”, herausgeben. Nebenbei wurde den 40 Teilnehmern im Rahmen der Tagung die Möglichkeit gegeben, die Museen von Celje (mit der grossen Sonderausstellung des Jahres 1999 über die Grafen von Cilli), Brezice und Novo mesto zu besichtigen. Mitja Guŝtin Président d’Instrumentum juin 1999 Un moule à balles de fronde inscrit d’époque tardo-républicaine à Paris, rue Saint-Martin Cette découverte, en elle-même peu spectaculaire, s’avère importante à plus d’un titre : d’abord, pour la nouveauté qu’elle apporte sur l’existence, en Gaule, d’évocats de légion entretenant des liens avec les corps de frondeurs; ensuite et peut-être surtout, pour l’eau qu’elle vient apporter au moulin de ceux qui soulignent, dans les fouilles de Lutèce, le nombre significatif des documents qui pourraient être mis en relation avec une présence militaire précoce, peutêtre dès l’époque de César et au plus tard durant les Guerres Civiles... M. Poux, L. Guyard (p. 29) Ein Eisengerät mit eingepunzten Markierungen vom Magdalensberg in Kärnten Imzuge der Sichtung der Eisenfunde vom Magdalensberg fiel ein singuläres Gerät mit eingepunztem Dekor auf. Die vorliegende Notiz soll vor allem dazu dienen, den Fund vorzustellen und eventuelle, unpublizierte Parallelen aufzufinden. K. Gostenĉnik (folgt S. 15) Un atelier de plaques Campana dans le Péloponnèse Au Nord-Ouest du Péloponnèse, dans la ville moderne de Kato Achaïa, à 22 km de Patras, où se situe la ville hellénistique de Dymè, des fouilles de sauvetage récentes ont mis au jour une partie des installations d'un atelier de fabrication de plaques Campana. A. Vassilogamvrou (suite p. 16) Fig. 1 — Collier de bronze; British Museum, inv. PRB 51.8-13.139. Un collier de bronze italique Connu depuis le milieu du XIXe siècle, cet objet exceptionnel a d’abord fait partie du cabinet Durand, collectionneur auquel le lyonnais Ambroise Comarmond a racheté de nombreuses antiquités. Il est ensuite passé dans les collections du Bristish Museum avec l’importante collection privée que le conservateur du musée de Lyon a vendue à cet organisme en 1851. Pratiquement inédit1, malgré An unusual umbo from the Ljubljanica river (SI) An unusual bronze umbo from the Ljubljanica river appears to belong to a rather uncommon class of Roman shield boss, probably datable in the 3rd c. AD. A. Gaspari (following p. 18) son caractère spectaculaire et sa grande qualité artistique, ce collier demeure à bien des aspects énigmatique. Sa description, dans les pages qui suivent, devrait permettre de préciser sa date de fabrication et, peut-être, sa fonction : pour A. Comarmond, un joug de panthère utilisé dans des jeux publics ou privés … M. Feugère (suite p. 19) Bibliographie Instrumentum 9 .................................... 2 Poignard recourbé de LT finale en Roumanie .......... 12 L’artisanat de la Grèce ancienne ............................ 13 Découverte d’un ex-voto inédit à Dijon .................... 13 Nouveaux bracelets celtiques en verre de Champagne et de Lorraine ............................... 14 Bavay : les «plaques à alvéoles» ............................ 15 Ein Eisengerät mit eingeputzten Markierungen vom Magdalensberg in Kärnten ............................ 15 Un atelier de plaques Campana dans le Péloponnèse .... 16 Epingle en fer de Novo mesto (SI) .......................... 16 L’artisanat rural en Gaule septentrionale ................. 16 Ferret à bordure zoomorphe de Bages (Aude) ........ 17 An unusual umbo from the Ljubljanica river (SI) ...... 18 Un collier de bronze italique ? ................................. 19 Dodécaèdres bouletés ............................................. 21 La fonction d’une pièce ornementale de Dacie ........ 23 A British cosmetic set from Thérouanne .................. 23 A propos des amulettes en forme de pied .............. 25 MGM 11 : Alleins, La Tamberlette (B.-d.-Rh.) ........ 25 MGM 12 : Balles de fronde antiques en plomb du pays Salluvien, Cavare et Voconce (Rhône) ........ 26 Nos liens favoris sur le web ..................................... 28 Diplômes universitaires ........................................... 28 Un moule à balles de fronde inscrit d’époque tardo-républicaine à Paris .................................. 29 Mostre in Italia 1999 ................................................ 30 Late antique glass workshop in Kranj, Slovenia ..... 31 Sous presse / In print ............................................. 31 Découvertes récentes ............................................. 31 An unusual umbo from the Ljubljanica river (SI) Underwater activity in the Ljubljanica at Ljubljana moor (Slovenia) already brought to light many highly interesting archaeological finds. The area of the important settlement and reloading station Nauportus (modern Vrhnika) and of the river of the same name has been well known since the end of the last century for its considerable number of Late Iron Age - Late Republican and Early Imperial finds. Among these items there are also many pieces of pre-Roman and Roman military weapons and equipment (Horvat 1990, 174, 217, 238, 239, Fig. 32 a, c, 35, 36, Pl. 4: 14; 9: 5 - 7; 23; 27; 28; Guŝtin 1991, 52 - 53, Fig. 28; Bitenc, Knific 1997, Fig. 13). In the Ljubljanica, as in other European rivers, a number of Roman swords, daggers, pila, spearheads and arrowheads outnumber a minor group of defensive weapons. Fig. 1: Bronze shield-boss from the Ljubljanica river. Scale 1 : 4. Among extremely rare finds of armour, an unusual bronze shield-boss (Fig. 1-2) was found in a riverbed a little upstream from the place where the stream Bistra flows into the Ljubljanica. In a broader topographical sense, the findspot marks the beginning of a riverbed area with rich underwater finds, presumably votive offerings. Made of hammered copper alloy, this circular boss, with a bell-shaped central part, has a particular flange with eight rounded points - contrary to the usual type of circular bosses, with a hemispherical central part and round flanges. Despite the fact that the central boss is somewhat damaged and the highest point is missing, we can assume that it ended in some conical extremity. The ends of the points were hammered out from the inside and form small hemispheres. The umbo was fixed to the shield by six iron nails or rivets with bronze heads, in two groups of three on either side. At the inner side of the boss we can still find traces of lead, which was used at the junction between the rivet and the flange. Points of iron rivets, as well as the handgrip, are missing. Aside from an ornamental outer edge, the boss itself is decorated only with four narrow grooves in two pairs at the slightly angled flat surface below the central boss - such grooves are considered to be characteristic of Roman bosses. The shield-boss has a diameter of 21cm and is 6cm high. The thickness of the copper alloy sheet varies from 0,5mm at the top to 2mm at the outer points. The bronze heads of rivets are 9mm high and have a diameter of 1,5cm. The bottom of the missing conical extremity was around 3cm wide. The boss from Ljubljanica is nearly identical to two almost complete bosses with flat, eight-pointed flanges and a diameter between 18.5cm and 22cm, found in collapsed siege-mines at Dura-Europos (Fig. 3) and dated to the latest period of occupation, around 18 254 - 257 AD (Rostovtzeff et al. 1936, 196-197, Fig. 18: U). According to Simon James (Durham), the boss from Ljubljanica is very similar to one of the two bosses found at Dura-Europos, the one with scribed rings and repoussé domes at each extremity (this information was kindly communicated to Dragan Boẑiĉ by Simon James, who is at present preparing a publication on the subject.) There are also two fragments of flanges from other bosses kept at Yale University, while another boss has been found at Dura recently. A somewhat different iron boss with lower points is also known from the fort at Zugmantel, occupied between ca. 90 and 260 AD (Jacobi 1909, 64, Pl. 11: 27; Bishop, Coulston 1993, 149, note 62). The shape of the boss from Ljubljanica corresponds to some profiles of iron and bronze specimens with flat flanges from deposits A and B at Illerup Ådal, dated to the C 1b period of North European chronology (Ilkjær 1994, 236, Fig. 7: ANH A/B). The general profile of the boss is also somewhat similar to the Zieling type O iron bosses, occurring mostly in the Scandinavian region. They are dated to the period between C1 and C3 (Zieling 1989, 135-136, Pl. 16: 2). Iron circular shield-bosses in the southeastern Alps often occur in the Late La Tène, Augustan and Early Imperial contexts, but also in Germanic graves of the Migration period. Several shield-bosses of the early phase of the Late La Tène (LT D1) period have a diameter of nearly 30cm, wide flat flanges and characteristic concavities under a rounded conical central boss. Flange and boss are usually separated by a narrow rib or simple step. For example, such bosses were found in the grave 169 at Novo mesto (Knez 1992, 60, Pl. 61: 2) and grave V/42 at Magdalenska gora (Hencken 1978, 40, Fig. 163b). Some items of smaller diameter represent bosses with a rounded conical central part and flat flange, usually with a small rib at some distance from the central part. This so-called Roje type, also dated to the LT D1 period, is known from graves at Roje near Moravĉe (Knez 1977, 106109, Pl. 2: 4; 3: 1; 14: 2; Guŝtin 1984, 130), Strmec above Bela Cerkev (Dular 1991, 88, Pl. 51: 34) and Mokronog (Guŝtin 1977, 82, Pl. 10: 4). A shield-boss similar to the LT D2 period type Rondsen was found in grave 187 at Novo mesto (Knez 1992, 63, Pl. 67: 3; Lippert 1992, 293), while Augustan grave 3 at Reka near Cerkno still contained the boss with the formal characteristics of the LT D1 phase (Guŝtin 1991, 25, Pl. 30: 4). In the early Augustan graves we can find bosses with considerably smaller diameters (around 20cm), flat or angled narrow flanges and rounded conical central parts (Boẑiĉ 1992, 198). Such examples are known from the cemeteries at Verdun - grave 37 (Breŝĉak 1989, 12; I Celti 1991, 728, 795, No. 340) and Strmec above Bela Cerkev (Dular 1991, 93, Pl. 56: 18; Stare 1973, 66, Pl. 11: 6). Auxiliary graves from the period between the Middle Augustan and Claudian eras contain shield-bosses of the Verdun type (Boẑiĉ 1992, 198, 205), which are characterized by a conical central part with vertical sides and long shafts. Such examples were found in graves 1, 41, 84 and 112 at Verdun (Breŝĉak 1989, 10, 13; Bericht Röm.-Germ. Zentmus. 1986, Fig. 64; Feugère 1993, 35, 264), Strmec above Bela Cerkev (Müllner 1900, Taf. 37: 3; Déchelette Fig. 3 — Situation in the gallery by tower 19 at Dura-Europos with the skeletons of eighteen soldiers and the remains of their armour and clothing (after Rostovtzeff et al. 1936, Fig. 18). 1927, 679, Fig. 495: 4; Stare 1973, 80, Pl. 51: 8; Dular 1991, 104, Pl. 75: 20, 23), Polhov Gradec (Loẑar 1938, 95, No. 32-34, Fig. 22 d-f) and grave 11 at Reka near Cerkno (Guŝ tin 1991, 26, Pl. 33: 15; 34: 2). All described types of the Late La Tène and Augustan circular shield-bosses are also represented at the Mihovo cemetery with more than thirty examples (mostly unpublished), which offer great opportunities for further research. The evidence for shield-bosses in the time span between the Early and Late Imperial periods in the area concerned is scarce. At present, nothing further is known about the highly interesting find of a gilded bronze umbo at Ŝturje by Ajdovŝĉina, recorded by Moser in 1891 (I thank Dr. Dragan Boẑiĉ for this information). According to a report, the shield-boss bore the inscription “R.R.V.G.L.” and was decorated with a representation of a warrior and two horses (Moser 1891, 33). Considering the description, we may presume that it dates from the Late Imperial period. At the end of this short account, we can also mention a circular iron boss in the Germanic graves of the 6th century, found on Svete gore above Bistrica ob Sotli (Koroŝec 1978, 521, Fig. 3: 1), at Kranj (Stare 1980, 50, Fig. 16, Pl. 4: 2; Knific 1995, 38-39, Fig. 9: 4, 5; 16: 2) and Bilje near Nova Gorica (Osmuk 1978, 465, Pl. 1: 8; 2: 1). In the opinion of Piotr Kaczanowski and Marcin Biborski (Kraków), kindly communicated to Dragan Boẑiĉ, the Ljubljanica umbo does not originate from the area of Barbaricum. This remarkable piece of military equipment should be considered as a Roman provincial product. Andrej Gaspari Ŝtefanova 15 SI - 1000 Ljubljana Bibliography Fig. 2 : Bronze shield-boss from the Ljubljanica river. Bericht Röm.-Germ. Zentmus. 1986, Beigaben aus einem Kriegergrab aus Verdun bei Novo mesto. - Jahrbuch des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums Mainz 33, 879, 883. Bishop, Coulston 1993: M. C. Bishop, J. C. N. Coulston, Roman military equipment, London.