The only surviving early Byzantine broad collar with pendants, the so-called Berlin collar, was acquired as part of the so-called treasure of Assiût in Cairo in 1909. Based on its technique, the motifs of its pierced-work, and its settings, the collar can be dated to the second half of the 6th or the first half of the 7th century. A date to this period is further corroborated by a pair of bracelets and a necklace from the same treasure, which were probably made as a set together with the collar. According to images, collars with pendants were worn by private persons, mythological figures, Constantinopolis, Roma, Maria, Saints, and female members of the imperial family from the 4th century onwards. From the early 5th century onwards, though, such collars seem to have been reserved for Constantinopolis and Roma, Maria and Agnes in imperia attire, and female members of the imperial family. Thus, broad collars with pendants were probably used as regalia. Such a function is also suggested by two extant collars with pendants from the medieval period: one from Preslav, the other from Mainz. The Berlin collar is abundantly decorated with emeralds, hyacinths (sapphires, one amethyst), and pearls. Thus, it stands out among other pieces of jewellery from the same period, none of which is decorated in a similar way and with the same materials. According to literary sources and images, emeralds, hyacinths, and pearls were used on regalia. The edict Codex Iustinianus 11.12 restricts these materials and regulates that all imperial jewellery and regalia had to be made in the palatine workshops. The shape and the materials of the Berlin collar, therefore, suggest that it functioned as a regalium for a female member of the imperial family. Thus, it was probably made in Constantinople, and it may have reached Egypt as a votive to an early Byzantine church or pilgrimage shrine.

"Study of Theophilus' tractate in comparison with Byzantine goldsmiths' work as well as written sources such as an 11th century tractate with 69 recipes for goldsmiths by an anonymus Byzantine author. Several goldsmiths' techniques were chosen as case studies such as wire drawing, enamelling and niello. The result is that Theophilus' work had no direct influence on Byzantine goldsmiths since their craftmenship was based on their own traditions, however, drawing from the same antique and late antique sources as Theophilus."

Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit wird der 1883 bei Basel entdeckte keltische Goldfund von Saint-Louis aus der Zeit kurz vor 100 v. Chr. in den grösseren Zusammenhang ähnlich zusammengesetzter keltischer Hortfunde gestellt, im ersten Teil mit der nachredigierten Fassung eines Artikels von 1982 und im zweiten Teil mit den wichtigsten inzwischen erfolgten weiteren Forschungen sowie Überlegungen dazu. Dieser Fundkomplex aus Ringschmuck und Münzen bleibt ein archäologischer Schlüsselfund in dreierlei Hinsicht. Erstens als bedeutender Hortfund nahe der grossen keltischen Siedlung Basel-Gasfabrik, zweitens für Horte mit ortsfremden Münzen vom Typ Regenbogenschüsselchen und Muschelstateren und drittens für die Kombination von Torques mit Münzen in Depotfunden. Deren sakrale Bedeutung wird heute weitgehend akzeptiert. Unklarer ist der Hintergrund des Zustandekommens und der Niederlegung von grösseren Mengen von ortsfremden Münzen vor allem aus Bayern und Böhmen, wie dies auch in anderen Hortfunden am südlichen Oberrhein festzustellen ist. Karel Castellin versuchte 1961 dieses Dilemma mit der Definition einer „Basler Gruppe“ von Muschelstatere zu lösen, die heute infolge der festgestellten Stempelkoppelungen überholt ist. Andres Furger erklärte 1982 dasselbe Phänomen als bewusste Selektion solcher Goldmünzen, mit ihren in religiösem Zusammenhang gedeuteten Symbolen, im Sinne von Opfermünzen, Dabei wurde die Kombination mit Ringschmuck, vor allem Torques, als wichtiges Argument angeführt. Diese Erklärung wurde untermauert durch literarische und bildliche Belege für die Bedeutung des Torques als göttliches Attribut. Michael Nick konnte 2005/06 den Bogen dank entscheidender Neufunde der letzten Jahrzehnte weiter schlagen. Er bestätigte den sakralen Charakter der Depotfunde von ortstfremden Münzen vom Typus Muschelstater und Regenbogenschüsselchen in Kombination mit Torques und stellte eine neue These auf für die Hortfunde ohne Torques. Michael Nick plädierte für „fliessende Grenzen“ zwischen sakralen und profanen Bereichen und für eine weniger strikte Grenzziehung zwischen beiden. Damit kommt er auf die Idee einer Mischform von Münzhorten als „Deponierungen in der Obhut der Götter“, bei der die gehorteten Werte zu profanen Zwecken wieder gehoben werden konnten. Einen entscheidenden Fortschritt brachten die von Bernward Ziegaus neu festgestellten Stempelkoppelungen von Münzen zwischen weit entfernt liegenden, aber sehr ähnlich zusammengesetzten Hortfunden vor allem zwischen dem südlichen Oberrhein, Süddeutschland und Böhmen. Michael Nick leitete daraus ab, dass die Horte beziehungsweise, die Personen oder Gruppen, die diese niederlegten, miteinander in Beziehung standen. Im letzten Teil wird auf das merkwürdige Fehlen von Pilipperstateren in sakralen oder semisakralen Horten am Rheinknie und damit auch im Goldfund von Saint-Louis hingewiesen. „Glatten“ Münzen wie den Regenbogenschüsselchen oder Muschelstateren kamen zwischen bestimmten Gruppen wohl eine spezielle Bedeutung im Rahmen religiöser Vorstellungen zu. In einem Zwischenkapitel wird die Frage gestellt, woher der Reichtum der Bewohner der keltischen Siedlung am Rheinknie kam, zu dem auch Goldfunde wie die hier behandelten Ringe gehörten. Eine Antwort darauf gibt der Charakter der Siedlung Basel-Gasfabrik am Rhein mit vermutlichem Hafen als Handels- und Umschlagplatz von teuren Importgütern wie Wein aus Italien und im Gegenzug dazu vielleicht von Sklaven. Ebenfalls im zweiten Teil wird noch einmal die nicht leicht zu entwirrende Entdeckungsgeschichte des Fundes von Saint-Louis aufgerollt, nachdem ein deutscher Forscher um 1990 den Vorschlag gemacht hatte, diesen Hort dem damals neu entdeckten Oppidum Kegelriss bei Freiburg im Breisgau aufgrund von in Archivalien des frühen 20. Jahrhunderts erwähnten Goldfunden unbekannter Zeitstellung zuzuordnen. Zur Klärung dieser Frage werden hier erstmals die Argumente pro und contra Kegelriss und Saint-Louis differenziert diskutiert. Einerseits erweisen sich die wenigen bisher angeführten Belege und Argumente für die Umplatzierung als vage und andererseits kann darauf hingewiesen werden, dass mehrere Forscher die Lokalisierung des Fundes von Saint-Louis am Rheinufer unterhalb Basels mit eigenen Nachforschungen glaubhaft untermauern konnten. Fazit: Der alternative Fundortvorschlag konnte bis heute nicht belegt werden und erfolgte demnach vorschnell. Der Goldfund von Saint-Louis bei Basel bleibt ein wichtiges Zeugnis der Präsenz der Kelten im 2. und 1. Jahrhundert vor Christus am Basler Rheinknie. Er stammt aus der unmittelbaren Nachbarschaft der so genannten Siedlung Basel-Gasfabrik unter dem Novartis-Campus und damit der best untersuchten keltischen Grosssiedlung der Schweiz.

Catalogue of the exhibition held in Saarbrücken, Munich and Dresden in 1995

Die Einführung enthält Hinweise zu Ikonographie, Datierung, Abkürzungen, Lesung, historischer Einordnung etc. und stellt in einem Katalogteil beispielhaft typische Siegel vor. This introduction is written only in German language. It contains remarks on iconography, dating, reading, historical views and presents a catalofue of typical Byzantine lead seals.

A basic problem concerning the interpretation of the Nebra Sky Disc is the question as to whether Egyptian and Near Eastern influences must be taken into consideration. This arises particularly with regard to the meaning of boats and ships in attempts to explain the cosmology of early cultures. In this contribution will be initially examined, which role boats and ships had in the Aegean, whereby it is established that in the Aegean – the link between the early advanced civilizations and Central Europe – no directly comparable ideas of a sun barge reveal themselves. Boats, however, played a prominent role also in religious ideas. The significance of long-distance contacts in the Early Bronze Age is then examined also with regard to the role of seafaring. It is emphasized which changes had an effect on the Aegean under Near Eastern influence in the Early Bronze Age and integrated this territory as the westernmost fringe of the Near Eastern socioeconomic system. The trade of metals, e.g. of tin, serves as a key to the understanding of the far-reaching, indirect contacts in the area between the Aegean and Western India. On the other hand the extent of contacts between the Aegean and Central Europe in pre-Mycenaean times was of considerably smaller scale, and this is primarily due to the different socioeconomic prerequisites.

Abstract The Land along the Morava in the Middle Ages. Alongside the Morava, the border river between Austria and Slovakia, a significant historico-cultural area developed from the prehistory on. Fertile soil pandered to the procession of formation of settlements. Good transportation routes on land and water boosted the supra-regional contacts which ranged from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea. Also, medieval settlements as well as mottes are known from this region. The here presented metal artifacts, which were gathered around Bernhardsthal, Ringelsdorf, Drösing and Jedenspeigen, come from a private collection. The corpus of finds document the spectrum of metal everyday objects from clothes and jewellery of the Middle Ages. Finds from the late High Middle Ages and the Late Middle Ages predominate. Beside the common Europe-wide forms, some few stand out through meticulous workmanship and gilding. Most of the medieval finds were dated to the time as the settlement Drösing (around 1296) was relocated to a dry area to the West. Finds which are dated to the Early modern prove that the area of the abandoned settlement did not fall into oblivion. In the future, systematic excavations in the radius of the church, the medieval cemetery, the deserted village and the motte shall be conducted. Keywords: Middle Ages, Lower Austria, metal finds, private collection. Zusammenfassung Entlang der March, dem Grenzfluss zwischen Österreich und der Slowakei, entwickelte sich ab der Urgeschichte ein bedeutender kulturgeschichtlicher Raum. Fruchtbare Böden begünstigten die Besiedlung. Gute Transportwege zu Land und Wasser förderten überregionale Kontakte, die von der Ostsee bis an die Adria reichten. Auch mittelalterliche Siedlungen sowie Hausberge sind aus der Region bekannt. Die hier vorgestellten Metallartefakte, die um Bernhardsthal, Ringelsdorf, Drösing und Jedenspeigen gesammelt wurden, stammen aus einem Privatbesitz. Die Funde belegen die Bandbreite metallener Alltagsgegenstände von Kleidung und Schmuck des Mittelalters. Funde des späten Hochmittelalters und des Spätmittelalters überwiegen. Neben den europaweit üblichen Formen stechen einige wenige durch sorgfältige Bearbeitung und Vergoldung hervor. Die meisten mittelalterlichen Funde datieren in jene Zeit, als die Siedlung Drösing (um 1296) in ein trockeneres Gebiet nach Westen verlagert wurde. Funde, die in die frühe Neuzeit datieren, belegen, dass der Bereich der aufgelassenen Siedlung, nicht in Vergessenheit geriet. In Zukunft sollen systematische Ausgrabungen im Bereich der Kirche, dem mittelalterlichen Friedhof, der Wüstung und dem Hausberg durchgeführt werden. Schlüsselwörter: Mittelalter, Niederösterreich, Metallfunde, Privatsammlung.

This article brings together evidence of the activities of female household members, especially of the domina, in order to locate their actions and movements within the domus and to question the existence of separate women’s rooms or quarters. The discussion centres on representations of Roman women in textual and visual sources in comparison to ‘everyday life’ as partially reflected by the archaeological records from Pompeian houses. The aim of this comparison is to overcome the frequently mentioned desideratum of investigating the spatial relationship between different household members: Whereas previous scholarship has focused mainly on the person of the dominus and localised his activities, such as salutationes and convivia, in certain room types, the ‘female sphere of action’ has not sufficiently been investigated. Information regarding the whereabouts of women (as well as children and slaves) in the house is relatively sparse in the ancient sources and has therefore found little discussion by modern scholars. The present article strives to bring together all available types of sources and methods on female household activities and their locations. The article is two-fold, as reflected in the title: The first part is a collection of sources on typical female activities and role-models; the second part tries to confront these ideals and clichés with ancient ‘reality’ and presents approaches to locate women within the Roman house. Following the Introduction (I) on the current state of research, Section II explains the general ideological connection of women with the domestic sphere as reflected in literary sources. Section III is a collection of literary, epigraphic and archaeological sources which represent jewellery, cosmetics, spindles and wool baskets as typical female attributes. These symbols – underlying social conventions and expectations – illustrate beauty care and wool-working as topoi of traditional female household activities. Section IV presents different methods and material that had formerly been applied to spatial investigations of Roman houses: In Section IV.1, literary anecdotes regarding women’s rooms are assembled; it is argued here that no consistent terminology exists for rooms used by women. Section IV.2 gives an account of attempts by various scholars to identify women’s quarters in several Pompeian houses on the basis of architecture together with wall and floor decorations. These interpretations have clearly developed in accordance with modern perceptions of Roman housing and of the isolation of the domina, her daughters, guests and other females in rooms removed from the main area of the domus. Section IV.3 introduces artefact distribution analysis as the only method available to determine ‘small-scale, short-term activities’ and thereby to come closer to daily life. Here, the distribution of objects established above as being (at least traditionally) the attributes of women in the sources is examined based on the research of P. M. Allison. Despite the many methodological difficulties which artefact distribution analysis in Pompeii presents, the finds indicate a flexible use of rooms rather than separate women’s quarters. There is not only evidence for the coexistence of diverse activities within the house and its single rooms, but also for the concentrated storage of various domestic items, especially in atria. In most cases, large cupboards and chests with mixed assemblages also contained valuable items (such as female jewellery) and could have functioned as show-pieces. Together with finds of loom weights, the objects show the symbolic presence of women, mainly the domina, in the ‘first place of the house‘ (Cornelius Nepos). This supports the practical and symbolic role of the domina as centre of the household. Altogether, the textual sources as well as the archaeological evidence reflect the open and unrestricted movement of female household members throughout the house and put to rest the idea of separate women’s rooms.

Alongside the Morava, the border river between Austria and Slovakia, a significant historico-cultural area developed from the Prehistory on. Fertile soil pandered to the procession of formation of settlements. Good transportation routes on land and water boosted the supra-regional contacts which ranged from the Baltic Sea to the Adriatic Sea. Also, medivial settlements as well as mottes are known from this region. The metal artefacts presented here, which were gathered around Bernhardsthal, Ringelsdorf, Drösing and Jedenspeigen, come from a private collection. The corpus of finds document the spectrum of metal everyday objects from clothes and jewellery of the Middle Ages. Finds from the late High Middle Ages and the Late Middle Ages predominate. Beside the common Europe-wide forms, some few stand out through meticulous workmanship and gilding. Most of the medivial finds were dated to the time as the settlement Drösing (around 1296) was relocated to a dry area to the West. Finds which are dated to the Early modern prove that the area of the abandoned settlement did not fall into oblivion. In the future, systematic excavations in the radius of the church, the medieval cemetry, the deserted village and the motte shall be conducted.