Featured Ancient ... but not a coin! Artifacts thread! Post 'em!

Discussion in 'Ancient Coins' started by lordmarcovan, Dec 25, 2017.

  1. Johndakerftw

    Johndakerftw Mr. Rogers is My Hero

    I love the collection of artifacts you have, Ken. Super sweet!

    Erin
     
    Deacon Ray likes this.
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Thanks pal! As long as people aren't getting too bored with them I'll keep posting. Here are some Roman lead sling bullets, all from Spain.

    IMG_4136.jpg
     
  4. 7Calbrey

    7Calbrey Well-Known Member

    Here are 3 shots of the new reddish vessel, as well as the obverse of the blessed old German Cross. Hope you like them.

    VaseSide.JPG VasMouth.JPG VaBase.JPG CrosObver.JPG
     
  5. Milesofwho

    Milesofwho Omnivorous collector

    Are there any inscriptions on any of them?
     
  6. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    I havent looked at them for years but I dont think so. I do have a Pompey bullet though.
     
  7. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Here are a few things. This time I wont attribute them. That is your job. What are they?
    IMG_4176.jpg
     
  8. arashpour

    arashpour Well-Known Member

    1. Yangshao culture pottery. This one comes with TL certificate of Oxford labs attesting the age to be 2500 BC. Yangshao culture is oldest culture of china from before the first Dynasty (Xia 2000 BC) This culture maps to legends of first emperor of china called Yellow emperor who is believed to be a chief of YangShao culture villages.

    20180127_081843_resized.jpg

    2. Canaanite pottery with TL test certificate attesting the age to 1500 BC found in Jericho and purchased from an Israeli dealer.

    20170611_170039_resized.jpg

    3. A marlik culture bronze short sword or dagger from 1200 BC

    20170611_164446_resized_1.jpg
     
  9. 7Calbrey

    7Calbrey Well-Known Member

    Those 2 crafted stones look like a couple of small jars to me, with a height of nearly 11 cm each. I kept them for 7 years and almost forgot them. The first thin one is empty and can be filled with any liquid. The second thick and heavy is totally solid and compound. While shaking it, I clearly felt something inside. I pulled it to my ear and heard a sound while shaking it. Do you advise me to break the heavy stone and check what's inside? Found very deep underground, they were described by the seller as items related to funeral symbols or ceremony. Thanks for any comment. Larm.JPG Shake.JPG
     
  10. lrbguy

    lrbguy Well-Known Member

    Not sure what you meant by "totally solid and compound" but I would not break it. At 11cm it could well be a mace head if it is solid, but if hollow I would not think of it as that. Does the break high up go all the way through?
     
    7Calbrey likes this.
  11. 7Calbrey

    7Calbrey Well-Known Member

    Thanks for your concern. The heavy item has the shape and almost the size of a pear. It could weigh around half a kilogram. Anyway here are 2 new shots for both the upper head and bottom down of this pear stone.
    By the way, I just realized that the empty first stone has something like a black head of a cat on the upper right side, as you can see in this third new photo below. Funny indeed.

    Sh up.JPG Sh down.JPG LarCat.JPG
     
    Deacon Ray likes this.
  12. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    Very minor addition to this thread - sorry about that...
    First ever artifact for me.
    Looks like 2nd century AD Fibula (please correct me if I am wrong .. just said "fibula" in the desciption).

    Caught up in the usual conundrum :
    "already purchased a couple of coins so the shipping is pretty much covered if I add just this one thing........".:banghead:
    That thinking has cost me more than I am willing to discuss.. but I am sure this will continue in perpetuum!!

    I really do like it - it is very solid and heavy in hand. I am very happy to own it. The "pin" is fully intact - a lot that I have seen do not.... and it was only $8.. so nice!!

    Fibula1.png
     
  13. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Very Nice. Hatatt calls these 'knee brooches', but are often known as a 'fan tail knee brooch', probably 2nd and 3rd Century. I dont collect fibulae, but they are a very good item to get closer to the ancients (other than coins). They are one of the more intimate items. Be careful of the pin and spring, most are replacements.

    I had forgotten to keep this thread alive, so I will post this:

    Roman Empire, circa 3rd Century AD
    Bronze ring and plate buckle measuring 85mm in length. Intact with a superb patina. Such ring buckles are mostly all from the 3rd Century.
    For reference, see Bishop & Coulston, Roman Military Equipment From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome, figure 118. bEz3C58f67qNjP5YLKp9k6yTssK4nW.jpg
     
  14. Clavdivs

    Clavdivs Well-Known Member

    Amazing buckle! Thank you.

    As stated I only paid $8.. so would not be upset (or surprised) if it was not perfect.
    Here are a couple of more pictures. Maybe someone can tell me what they think regarding the pin?

    Fibula22.jpg Fibula11.jpg
    Fibula33.jpg
     
  15. Ken Dorney

    Ken Dorney Yea, I'm Cool That Way...

    Hard to tell from the photo. They have gotten extremely good replacing pins and patinating them, often times its hard to say. Keep in mind most were thrown away because the pin or catch plate broke. For $8 I think its very nice even if the pin may not be original.
     
    Alegandron likes this.
  16. Multatuli

    Multatuli Homo numismaticus

    Well, I have here this Roman phallus (fascinum). It represents plenty and good luck. I think it’s a little big and heavy to hang on someone's neck, even if he was a strong Roman legionnaire. I think it must have been nailed to the stop at some front door.
    395FF4AE-E50B-45A4-A7DE-EA0D8EE61584.jpeg
    1B35D673-6EDC-4CC8-B879-6C02DBA49EF0.jpeg BF71222E-3848-42E6-83DB-8AC7572F8FC3.jpeg
     
    Ryro, SeptimusT, Johndakerftw and 3 others like this.
  17. Deacon Ray

    Deacon Ray Artist & Historian Supporter

    Charms such as these were as common in ancient Rome as the Crucifix in our culture today.
     
    Last edited: Jun 28, 2018
    Multatuli likes this.
  18. Multatuli

    Multatuli Homo numismaticus

    You're quite right, Deacon! This fascinum has circa 4.5cm. I don't know exactly how much it weighs, but is heavy. Perhaps it may not been used in a necklace.
     
    Deacon Ray likes this.
  19. SeptimusT

    SeptimusT Well-Known Member

    Here's a new one I just got: A bronze Medusa mount/attachment. I assume it would have been inset into furniture or a box. It's 17.5mm wide, and extremely thin, with no visible mount attachment.

    Medusa Mount.png
     
    Plumbata, randygeki, Jay GT4 and 3 others like this.
  20. ancientcoinguru

    ancientcoinguru Well-Known Member

    I was so impressed by @Alegandron's Hittite steatite amulet that I decided I wanted a Hittite artifact too. Here's a Hittite bullet seal that I purchased last weekend at Summer FUN. It is made of marble and measures 14x20 mm

    Hittitle bullet seal.png
    1800-1180 BC
    Hittite bullet seal with a radiant sun on the base
     
  21. 7Calbrey

    7Calbrey Well-Known Member

    Returning from the mountain, I just scanned those 2 acquisitions which I brought ten days ago. The first is a fossil that shows a shrimp or a crayfish ? The second is a lot of 3 lamps which seem to be of the same source or place, one of them (to the left)reveals a palm tree suggesting they'e Judean.
    Fosshrimp 001.jpg ThreeLamp 001.jpg
     
    Plumbata, randygeki, Ryro and 3 others like this.
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page