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Early Christian archaeology in Hungary between 2010 and 2016
149–161Views:112In 2010 the Department of Archaeology at the University of Pécs witnessed the establishment of Christian Archaeology, a new M.A. subject that did not exist in Hungary before. Shortly after the launch of Christian Archaeology in Hungary, in 2012 the department started a new research project in collaboration with the Department of Christian Archaeology, University of Vienna, under the title Frühes Christentum in Ungarn. This contribution is a presentation of the most important events and research-results in Christian Archaeology in Hungary between 2010 and 2016. Recent publications of the Roman provincial archaeologists, migration period archaeologists and patristic philosophers and theologians are also taken into account.
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Chronicle of the first planned excavation in Hungary: István Schönvisner and De ruderibus
233–245Views:143The excavation carried out by István Schönvisner, under what is today Florian Square (Budapest, Distr. III.), next to the Villa Torcularia, during which he revealed the sudatorium of Aquincum’s bigger bath, the Thermae Maiores began on 10th February 1778. Thanks to this excavation and the rapid publication of the results, the professor of antiquity and numismatics of Buda University became the founder of provincial archaeological research in Pannonia. In the same year he published the results of the exploration in De Ruderibus Laconici Caldariique Romani..., which – like Schönvisner’s other works – is revolutionary. He systematically processed the inscribed and figurative fragments which were discovered during the excavation and gave a complete overview of the era’s cultural history. In this paper, I would like to demonstrate the historical and cultural historical importance of this work, present its structure, the topics discussed, and the results by which István Schönvisner laid down the foundations of scientific classical archaeology in Hungary.
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Henrik Finály and Roman Dacia: The Contributions of a 19th Century Hungarian Po-Lymath to the Development of Roman Provincial Archaeology in Transylvania
43-62.Views:178By any standards Henrik Finály was a true polymath, his overarching interests ranging from mathematics to classical studies, modern linguistics and literature, economics, medieval studies and archaeology. Although he was among the first Hungarian antiquarians to pursue systematic scholarly investigations of Roman Dacia, his contribution in this field has been unfairly downgraded in the intervening years, and his name almost erased from the research history of the province. The main goal of the paper is to provide a comprehensive insight into, and a critical overview of the early stages of Roman Dacia studies through the work of Henrik Finály in the social, political and cultural context of 19th century Transylvania.
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Roman Dams in Asia Minor
59–74Views:304In this brief paper we will focus on six dams of the Roman period in Asia Minor, respectively Böğet, Örükaya, Seleucia Pieria, Ancyra, Aezani and Sardis, which are presented here in some outlines. The aim of this article is to introduce these ancient engineering monuments all together.
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Latinization of the north-western provinces: sociolinguistics, epigraphy and bilingualism. A preliminary study on the area of Nijmegen
49–58Views:161The ERC research project LatinNow (Latinisation of the north-western provinces), is intended to be a broad-based investigation of linguistic change in the north-western Empire (namely Britain, Gaul, Germanies, Noricum, Raetia and Iberia). Drawing upon sociolinguistics, bilingualism studies, digital epigraphy, and archaeology, specifically the analysis of writing materials, the area of Nijmegen has been used as a starting point, showing the different phonological features available and how they are distributed on the different writing materials, in terms of studying changes in the Germanies.
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Several Notes on Engraved Gems from Southern Pannonia
43–57Views:108Engraved gems from Eastern Pannonia are well known thanks to the scholarly work of professor Tamás Gesztelyi on the gems from Brigetio, Acquincum, Intercissa and Gorsium. Carnuntum in Western Pannonia yielded more than 1300 engraved gems, thus outnumbering all other findspots in the Province. In order to further complement the topography of gem findspots in Pannonia, this paper provides a brief conspectus of the engraved gems from Siscia in Southern Pannonia.
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The Gems in the Ustinow Collection, Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo
101-141Views:230Scientifically, the collection’s primary importance is its Middle-Eastern origin; collections of gemstones from the Middle East have rarely been published unlike those from European archaeological sites. Thus the possibility opens up to compare finds from the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire with a focus on similarities and differences. While in the western provinces the gemstones typically spread during the era of the Roman Empire, in the eastern provinces the use of seals and gemstones goes back several thousand years. It follows that in the western regions, representations of the official themes of the age of the emperors, including the characteristic figures of gods of the state religion (Jupiter, Minerva, Mars, Venus Victrix), are the most common. In contrast, the eastern provinces saw the spread of representations of local gods (Zeus Ammon, Zeus Heliopolitanos, Sarapis) or the Hellenistic types of the Greek gods (Apollo Musagetes, Aphrodite Anadyomene, Hermes Psychopompos). However, there were figures of gods that were equally popular in both regions, such as Tyche–Fortuna, Nike–Victoria, Eros–Amor, Dionysos–Bacchus, Heracles–Hercules. Each of these became rather popular in the Hellenistic World, spreading basically spontaneously throughout the entire Roman Empire. There was a similar unity in the popularity of represenations of animals, too.
The eastern region was, however, characterised by the relatively large number of magic gemstones. There is a piece among these which has no exact analogy (Cat. 69) and its analysis sheds new light on the previous interpretation of similar pieces. The popularity of magic gemstones is highlighted by the fact that some of their motifs became distorted beyond recognition in the popularisation process. Understandably, Sasanian gemstones and seals, which revived the Romans’ dying custom of sealing for some time, were also typical of the eastern regions. What is conspicuous is that the stone cameos (agate, sardonyx) so common in the western regions are completely missing from the collection, while there is a fair number of glass cameo pendants made in the eastern regions.
From an educational and community cultural aspect, the significance of the Ustinow collection lies in the fact that it represents several historical and cultural eras between the fourth century B.C. and the fifth century A.D. for the benefit of the interested public, private collectors, and students of archaeology and the antiquities. The gemstones may be small, but the representations on them can be extraordinarily rich in meaning. With adequate enlargement and due professional expertise, which this catalogue aims to promote, all this information can come to life in front of us, allowing us a glimpse into the lives and thoughts of the citizens of a Mediterranean world two thousand years back. -
The Cup of Gaius Valerius Verdullus found at Arcobriga (Monreal de Ariza, Zaragoza)
63–68Views:105In this paper I present two fragments from a fine walled ceramic vase found in Arcobriga that are part of the production of Gaius Valerius Verdullus, and I advance some views regarding the restoration of the epigraphic text that characterizes it.
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Women and Weasels: a Medico-religious Approach to Maternity in a Republican City of Lazio
71–82.Views:117Medicine and magico-religious practices went hand in hand in Greco-Roman societies, because they attached enormous importance to divine manifestations. Insofar as the gods were present everywhere and in all circumstances, it was necessary to scrupulously respect the rituals which were practised in their honour. Without these rituals, peace with the gods could be disrupted. In the town of Palestrina (Lazio), a votive deposit was unearthed near the foundations of a sanctuary. It contained several effigies of Juno as well as eight very original little statuettes with the breasts of a woman but the body of a weasel. In addition, there were also weasel’s bones and metal keys. Even though it seems logical to think that the religious complex and these offerings were evoted to the goddess, it is more difficult, however, to understand the link between Juno and the different offerings. Why were they placed there and by whom?
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Nuevas observaciones de lectura de una matriz de molde para crustula de Aquincum
115–122Views:54The paper examines again a form of the well-known crustula from Aquincum, and suggests some new possibilities for various readings of the lectio vulgata.
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Firme di artisti / produttori di specchietti in piombo con superficie riflettente in vetro
91–100Views:66In this short contribution we present lead mirrors with reflective glass surface that are characterized by the presence of the signature of the plumbarius and / or the creator of the form. These few but interesting epigraphic attestations allow some thoughts on how to produce this type of material and also on the people who were involved.
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Oedipus Riddles
131–140Views:89The paper discusses an interesting group of glass intaglios with the motif of Oedipus and the Sphinx. They are known from sites between the Adriatic, the Danube and the Black Sea, and occur in various colors and cuts, which suggests production in different molds or even workshops. Probably modeled on an intaglio made in an Italian officina gemmaria, the glass replicas may have been produced at Aquileia. The style points to the Late Republican or Augustan era, whereas the material of the glass copies and the funerary context from Aquincum show they were in use and probably produced till the 4 th century. The paper also discusses the possible meanings of the motif, from a simple illustration of the famous heroic adventure to a metaphoric depiction representing the mystic message of the key to a blessed afterlife.