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AMULET
Unique ID: NMS-7BEED8
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published 
A Roman gold amulet or talisman, comprising a rectangular plaque (lamella) of thin gold sheet, lightly incised with a text in a mixture of Greek and Latin characters and magical symbols. There appear to be nine lines of text across the short axis of the plaque and two additional marginal lines on the right side of the long axis. Creasing of the soft metal of the plaque (there are seven 'fold' lines) shows that it was originally rolled into a tube, with the text on the inner face. It was unrolled by the finder.
Such amulets, inscribed with secret formulae, were worn as a protection against evil. Their texts resemble those of Roman magical papyri and, as on those, the precise form and arrangement of the words and characters was critical in investing the object with its protective magical powers.
Very few inscribed gold amulets are known from Britain. They include examples from Caernarfon, York, and Wood Eaton, Oxfordshire (RIB I, 436 and 706. II, 2430.2). Henig regards the gold lamellae, together with other magical amulets, as possible evidence for the presence in Roman Britain of a small Eastern immigrant community (M. Henig, Religion in Roman Britain, London, 1984, 184 ff.).
Surface metal analysis conducted at the British Museum indicated that the gold content is approximately 91%.
Notes:
This object qualifies as Treasure in terms of age and precious metal content.
Find of note status
This is a find of note and has been designated: Regional importance
Subsequent actions
Current location of find: Norwich Castle Museum
Subsequent action after recording: Acquired by museum after being declared Treasure
Treasure details
Treasure case tracking number: 2003T93
Chronology
Broad period: ROMAN
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: ROMAN
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 43
Date to: Circa AD 200
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 41.5 mm
Width: 30 mm
Weight: 1.93 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 13th April 2003
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Treasure case number: 2003T93
Museum accession number: 2005.297
Materials and construction
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henig, M. | 1984 | Religion in Roman Britain | London | Batsford |
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