Burial of a woman with an amber distaff at Viminacium

Abstract

A luxurious set of spinning implements was discovered as part of the furnishings in the grave of a woman, unearthed in the surroundings of ancient Viminacium. A unique amber distaff with the upper part modelled in the form of a female bust stands out as the most important part of the grave assemblage. Similar artefacts were often misinterpreted, but this specimen was found together with a spindle, thus confirming that it actually is a distaff. Miniature copies of spinning equipment made out of precious materials are known from sepulchral contexts, and are described as objects expressing feminine virtue. It is considered that they were used in wedding rites, thus indicating the possible age of the deceased. Spinning implements can represent useful tools for studying the life course of Roman women. In this paper, an attempt was made to identify the divinity or person depicted on the distaff from Viminacium, considering the symbolic nature of these artefacts.