Trove of jewels and charms found at Pompeii give insight into 'female world' of ancient Rome

Archaeologists working in Pompeii have found a collection of ornate jewellery, glass beads and good luck charms which they say give them an insight into 'the female world' of ancient Rome.

Trove of amulets, figurines and jewels found in the House of the Garden in Pompeii
[Credit: Cesare Abbate, ANSA]

The collection was found in a wooden box in the House of the Garden in the Regio V section of the site.

Traces of wood chest on bronze hinge 
[Credit: Cesare Abbate, ANSA]

It includes two mirrors, several pieces of a necklace, pieces of bronze, bone and amber as well as a human figure and several phallic amulets.

Glass oval inscribed with dancing satyr 
[Credit: Cesare Abbate, ANSA]

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79 killed at least 1,500 people and buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in volcanic ash and rock. It was eventually rediscovered in the 18th century.

Wheat spike [Credit: Cesare Abbate, ANSA]

The director of the Parco Archeologico di Pompei, Massimo Osanna, said: "They are objects of everyday life in the female world and are extraordinary because they tell micro-stories, biographies of the inhabitants of the city who tried to escape the eruption.

Skull amulet, faience scarabs, bells in foreground 
[Credit: Cesare Abbate, ANSA]

“Interesting is the iconography of objects and amulets, which invoke fortune, fertility and protection against bad luck. And the numerous pendants in the shape of small phallus, or the ear, the closed fist, the skull, the figure of Harpocrates, the scarabs.”

Small bronze bells [Credit: Cesare Abbate, ANSA]

He said the team had discovered a room with ten victims of the eruption, including women and children, in the house and they were trying to establish whether they were a family by using DNA analysis. Osanna said the objects may have belonged to one of the victims found at the site.

Some of the amulets and jewels found in the chest 
[Credit: Cesare Abbate, ANSA]

The team believes the high quality of the amber and glass found as well as the intricate engraving of the figures suggest the importance of the home’s owner.

Stone and amber beads [Credit: Cesare Abbate, ANSA]

Some of the jewels will be exhibited, along with other jewellery found in Pompeii at the Palaestra Grande on the site.

Author: Caroline Mortimer | Source: EuroNews [August 13, 2019]