Mildenhall treasure
The Mildenhall treasure comprises 34 pieces made from silver and dating from Roman times . A farmer in Suffolk , England , came across the treasure while plowing in 1942. He did not deliver it at first, but kept the pieces in his house. The finds were not known until 1946. Apparently the treasure was only shallow. According to the finder, a “large plate” covered the remaining objects. Traces of a container for the silver objects were therefore not observed. The treasure is on display in the British Museum , room 40.
Found objects
The 28 individual objects of the find ensemble weigh a total of 26.537 kg, which corresponds to 81 Roman pounds (librae). The heaviest single piece with 8.256 kg (25.2 librae) is the 60 cm diameter Oceanus plate (middle medallion) with Bacchic edge scenes. A smaller plate with a pearl rim and a depiction of a satyr playing a flute and a maenad with a double flute fills the entire surface has a diameter of 18.8 cm and a weight of 539 grams. A counterpart, which is identical except for minor differences in dimensions, shows the satyr and maenad dancing. Both have a name inscription in Greek script (Eutherius).
Another large, flat plate (diameter 55.6 cm, weight 5.023 kg) is decorated with a geometric niello .
Four larger bowls with a wide folded rim belong together according to their shape. The bottom of a bowl is decorated with a bear hunt. The middle medallions of the other bowls show a helmeted male head and the other two examples show a female bust with open or covered hair. The edges are each decorated with animal friezes and busts. Another set includes four smaller, deep bowls, the rim of which is decorated with vegetable patterns.
Comparative pieces to the collar bowl are already known from treasure finds from Gaul in the 3rd century . For the first time, a lid was also found here, which is decorated with a frieze and has a handle in the form of a seated Triton .
A large ribbed bowl with two handles has a diameter of 40.8 cm and weighs 2.093 kg with a maximum capacity of about 6.4 liters. The inside is decorated, the middle with a six-pointed star and the webs between the ribs with vegetable motifs. Bowls of this type are shown in late antique pictures with scenes of the toilet, so it is part of the washware.
The treasure includes two small utensils with a stand. The plate at the top has a folded, decorated edge. The stem is openwork, the foot hemispherical. The function is not guaranteed. It was discussed whether the foot could serve as a drinking vessel and - when empty - then the upper plate as a shelf for food, for example. Use as a stand or pedestal also seems possible. Five spoons with handles in the shape of a dolphin have a hemispherical spoon bowl that is flat at the bottom. Furthermore, eight cochlearia were found, which come from different series. Three of the spoons are decorated with vegetable ornaments, three others have a Christogram with alpha and omega in the spoon bowl . The last two have blessing inscriptions, once PAPITTEDO VIVAS ("Papittedo you may live") and once PASCENTIA VIVAS ("Pascentia you may live").
Dating and backgrounds
Individual items from the treasure find were made at different times. The oldest piece, the collar bowl, was made in the 3rd century according to comparative pieces. Other specimens, on the other hand, date to the second half of the 4th century AD. This provides a terminus post quem for concealment. On the other hand, statements by witnesses about allegedly found coins could not be confirmed in the scientific processing.
Names are given on individual objects, namely Eutherius on two plates and Papittedo and Pascentia on spoons. These may be names of people who owned the silver objects. It is a dining service (or part of one) and a sink. The two large plates were used to serve food for the dinner party. The collar bowl and lid may also have contained food for all participants in the meal. The larger bowls, on the other hand, are interpreted as eating utensils for a single person. The spoons were also used by one person at a time. The smaller bowls may have been used as an acetabulum , the smaller plates for side dishes.
The decorations on the spoons probably indicate the owners' contacts with Christianity. A decoration of tableware and other everyday objects with Christian symbols, signs or images has been proven in late antiquity , so the treasure was originally used in the late Roman table culture . The site of the discovery was in the open, nearby remains of a Roman floor - perhaps the remains of a villa rustica .
Others
The story of the treasure find was processed literarily by Roald Dahl in his story Der Schatz von Mildenhall (The Mildenhall Treasure). In 2011, the British artist Grayson Perry processed an iron cast of the Oceanus plate as part of the work of art The Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman .
See also
- Silver treasure from Kaiseraugst
- Esquiline treasure
- Treasure of Carthage
- Seuso sweetheart
- Silver treasure from Trier
literature
- Kenneth Scott Painter: The Mildenhall Treasure. Roman Silver from East Anglia. British Museum, London 1977.
- Richard Hobbs: The Secret History of the Mildenhall Treasure. In: Antiquaries Journal 88, 2008, pp. 376-420.
- Richard Hobbs: The Mildenhall Treasure. Late Roman Silver Plate from East Anglia. British Museum, London 2016.
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Roald Dahl : The Mildenhall Treasure. Jonathan Cape, London 1999, ISBN 0-224-06017-1 .
- German translation: Roald Dahl: The treasure of Mildenhall. Eight incredible stories. Book guild Gutenberg, Frankfurt am Main 1980, ISBN 3-7632-2646-X .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ A sketch made afterwards by the employer of the finder, Sydney Ford, for the location of the finds is shown in Hobbs 2016 p. 290
- ↑ The plate was named inconsistently in research, cf. Hobbs 2016 p. 60 Note 1. In addition to the name Oceanus plate (from Oceanus Dish ) chosen here after the middle medallion, Neptune Dish or Great Dish is also used , Hobbs speaks of the Bacchic Platter .
- ↑ For the discussion cf. Hobbs 2016 p. 201 ff.
- ↑ Hobbs 2016 p. 292
- ↑ See Hobbs 2016 pp. 273–287.
- ↑ Hobbs 2016 p. 284 suspects that Papittedo and Pascentia are Christian names.
- ↑ Hobbs 2016 p. 13 with illus.