1st Century BC Research Articles

SARMATIAN BURIALS EXCAVATED BY DMYTRO BEREZOVETS AT THE LOWER DNIEPER BASIN

During the campaigns of 1951 and 1953 Dmytro Berezovets excavated the Sarmatian graves near the Kut, Hrushivka and Marianske villages of Apostolovski district of Dnipropetrovsk region. These materials were published briefly, without typological and chronological definitions and analysis of the historical context, with illustrations of rather low quality. Moreover, there was some confusion and errors later made by some researchers, including the author, which have been replicated with each reference. Therefore, it is worthy to republish these materials from the standpoint of the current level of the Sarmatian studies in order to correct certain errors as well.
 Dmytro Berezovets has discovered the assemblages both of Early Sarmatian (Kut, Hrushivka, Maryanske, barrow 3, grave 4) and Middle Sarmatian Age (Marianske, barroow 5, graves 5—7; barrow 5, grave 6; barrow 6, grave 14) according to traditional chronology. All Sarmatian burials under study were the secondary graves in the Bronze Age mounds and Scythian ones. The skeletons lied supine, with their heads directed to Northern sector. Among the grave goods are the Roman and Sarmatiam pottery, simple bronze adornment, cornelian, jade and glass beads, bronze mirror, bone ritual spoon etc. The Early Sarmatian assemblages discovered by Dmytro Berezovets are dated to the late 2nd—1st century BC, the Middle Sarmatiam ones to the 1st—2nd centuries AD. The identical funeral rite of the graves of different date near Marianske once again confirms the validity of the periodization proposed by me in due time, according to which all the graves under study belong to different phases of the first period (phase A2 — Kut, Hrushivka, Marianske, barrow 3, grave 4; phase B — Marianske, barrow 3, graves 5—7; barrow 5, grave 6; barrow 6, grave 14).

Bucket-shaped pendants from the Sarmatae environment. A few notes on the origin, dating and use of these amulets in the Barbarian world

Bucket-shaped pendants were broadly diffused in various cultural environments from the area comprised between the north-east of the Black Sea and Central Europe. This study attempts, without aiming at being exhaustive, to analyse the objects of this type within the Sarmatian environment. The author examines these pendants from the Sarmatian environment compared to that of other cultural settings, within a broader context and concludes that in the Sarmatian environment, bucket-shaped pendants come mainly from either richly and poorly furnished children and women graves. The author notes that earliest specimens of such pendants are found in the north-Pontic area and originate in features that date to the 2nd – 1st century BC, which suggests that their origin, beside other pendant types, lies in the north-Pontic region. In the 1st century BC, these pendants are present with the late Scythians and the Sarmatians from the north and north-west of the Black Sea, but also in the Geto-Dacian and Germanic milieu (the Poieneşti-Lucășeuca culture). Once with the 1st century AD, the number of the bucket-shaped pendants increases significantly in the late Scythian, Sarmatian, Geto-Dacian environments but also in the cemeteries of the towns and settlements from the north-Pontic area. Still in this period, they start to be recorded in the Przeworsk culture area, as well. Subsequent to the analysis of bucket-shaped pendant finds from the Sarmatian environment, it was concluded they were not extensively used by the Sarmatians, like in the case of other pendant types. The author notes that the majority of bucket-shaped pendants from the Sarmatian environment of the north and north-west Pontic area come from graves dating to the chronological interval comprised between mid 1st century AD – early/first decades of the 2nd century AD. Furthermore, these artefacts are rare in second half of the 2nd century – first half of the 3rd century AD Sarmatian graves and are missing from the second stage of the late Sarmatian period (the second half of the 3rd century – 4th century AD). Following the analysis of the Sarmatian funerary features of the Great Hungarian Plain in which bucket-shaped pendants were discovered, it is concluded that the custom of wearing such pendants by women and children was carried to this area in the second half of the 1st century AD by the first groups of Sarmatians that settled the region. Last but not least, it was noted that in the Sarmatian environment of this geographical area these artefacts were used, to a more or less extent, on the entire duration of their inhabitancy of this area. In the end it is concluded that the massive use of bucket-shaped pendants in the 2nd – 4th century AD in various cultural environments of the area comprised between the north of the Black Sea and Central Europe evidences they became “supranational” artefacts, being produced and used by different populations from this geographical area

По следам проблемы III в. до нашей эры

Introduction. The problem of selecting monuments of the 3rd century BC in the Early Sarmatian culture came into sight during the process of discussing the reasons for the fall of Scythia, when it became clear that the Early Sarmatian funerary monuments in the Northern Black Sea steppes are recorded starting from the 2nd century BC, a hundred years after the alleged destruction. Methods and materials. During the research process the scientists came to the conclusion that there are no imports of the 3rd century BC in the burials of the Lower Volga region and the Southern Urals. Some researchers stated the absence of monuments of this time in the indicated territories, while others continued to search for new approaches. As a result, they proposed the the method of “clamped” dating, which allows us to distinguish a stratum between well-dated complexes of the 4th and 2nd – 1st centuries BC. Analysis. In the course of clarifying the situation in the original Sarmatian territories, some researchers have decided to devide the reference early Sarmatian burial ground Prokhorovka into two groups, not only chronologically, but also culturally. The 3rd century BC became a time separating these groups, elusive according to these authors, not only in the Northern Black Sea region, but also in the Volga-Ural steppes. Opposing this point of view, supporters of the culture of continuous development in the 4th – 1st centuries BC pay attention to the unity of the funeral rite throughout the entire period, and the lack of well-dated imports is explained by crisis phenomena and migration processes, when old contacts with civilizations are crashing and new ones have not yet been established. The discussion that unfolded in the 90s of the 20th century with the accumulation of new materials and clarification of old dates periodically revived, updated with new participants, but the position of opponents has not really changed. The proposed article is devoted to evaluating the arguments of both sides. Results. The method of “clamped” dating is not the most universal, considering the constantly growing database of sources and its corrections. But this method works and many scientists continue to rely on it. A simple statement of the impossibility of identifying monuments of the 3rd century BC, when the existence of the monuments of this time is asserted, seems even more surprising than the assertion of the “hiatus” of the 3rd century BC, in the Volga-Ural steppes region.

The Kalaureia Excavation Project. A preliminary report of the work carried out in Area L between 2015 and 2018

The report presents a summary and preliminary discussion on the work carried out by the Swedish Institute at ancient Kalaureia between 2015 and 2018 in Area L. The excavations were focused on this area with the hopes of gaining a better understanding of the settlement which was situated south of the Sanctuary of Poseidon in antiquity. The excavations show that a large building was constructed probably around the middle of the 4th century BC in the western part of Area L. The full outline and functional use of the building has not yet been fully established but the building seems to have been in use in several subsequent phases. The excavated remains further suggest that dining activities were carried out in the southern part of the building. A stone laid feature (Feature 3) excavated immediately to the east, together with charcoal deposits, also provide indications of cooking in the 3rd century BC at least. The feature was, however, covered by the 2nd century BC when a new wall was constructed which seems to connect the building with a broader structural complex to the south. During this period parts of Area L seem to have been used for olive oil production, identifiable through archaeobotanical remains, multiple pithoi, and a press installation excavated in the central part of Area L. In the Late Hellenistic to Early Roman phase (either in the 1st century BC or 1st century AD) much of the building complex was again covered by a new construction fill, raising the level of the building.

From 2D and 3D documentation to 4D interpretation. Building archaeological conclusions and workflow strategies gained by remote study of Insula V 1, Pompeii

The text describes new methods elaborated for and used in the building archaeological assessment of a city block, studied first on site, then remotely by members of the Swedish Pompeii Project. Use of a digital platform, with collected wall observations and analysis, systematic photographic documentation of all standing structures, and 3D models, allowed discussion to proceed after the fieldwork came to an end. The models provided new possibilities and new angles of approach, e.g. examining walls at any given point, studying boundary walls as wall-strings in their full extent, allowing all kinds of sectioning at will, introducing bird’s-eye views as a new perspective in study, and measuring wherever needed. The joint results obtained are summed up in a four-phase development of the use of space: the earliest structures; the late Samnite building boom (2nd century BC); the colony (second half of 1st century BC); the imperial era (until AD 79). This narrative includes conclusions concerning building process and development of masonry techniques and on changes in way of life. Many results affect Pompeian archaeology in general. Results of particular importance concern the character of the early plot division and the understanding of the building process creating the double-atrium house of Caecilius Iucundus, including an anchorage in time for this creation in the Claudian period. The relatively small impact in terms of damage that may be ascribed the literary recorded earthquake of AD 62/63 is also worth noting. The text ends with a suggestion of a new workflow for insula studies.

THE MIRROR WITH THICKENED RIM AND NAIL-SHAPED HANDLE FROM THE GETO-DACIAN SETTLEMENT OF POIANA (GALAȚI COUNTY, ROMANIA). NOTES ON ITS ORIGIN AND DATING

We discuss here the mirror discovered in 1987 following the archaeological investigations carried out in the Geto-Dacian settlement of Poiana (Galați county/RO). It belongs to the type of disc mirrors with thickened rim, central disc projection and nail-shaped handle. The item, singular in the east-Carpathian area, is the most western find of such mirror type. Subsequent to the analysis of all aspects related to such mirrors, it may be concluded that currently, the view according to which these are of Central-Asian origin is the most convincing theory. First mirrors of the type emerged in the eastern Sarmatian environment during the final stage of the Early Sarmatian period (the 2nd – 1st century BC), while their maximum use period in the Sarmatian world lies in the 1st century AD, being discontinued in the Volga-Don region by late this time span. In the north-Pontic area west of the Don, such artefacts remained in use until early 2nd century AD, while the graves to which they belong, with one exception, date to the second half of the 1st century – early 2nd century AD. In the north-Pontic Sarmatian environment west of the Don, these mirrors diffused, beside other eastern origin artefact classes, mainly owing to the entry and settlement of new migratory groups arriving from the east, with close contacts and relations with the Central Asian region. Based on the fact that the majority of these mirrors were discovered mainly in graves from the region east of the Don, the dating of the features containing such mirrors as well as the Sarmatians’ entry and settlement of the north-Pontic area west of the Don, the author here concludes that the item of Poiana, together with other eastern origin artefact classes, reached the east-Carpathian area most likely sometime in the second half of the 1st century AD, however no later than early 2nd century AD, as supported also by the context in which the specimen of Poiana was discovered. Last but not least, the author here concludes that the mirror from the Geto-Dacian settlement of Poiana, beside other object categories of Sarmatian origin or mainly used by the Sarmatians discovered in the pre-Roman Geto-Dacian environment, furthermore evidence the Sarmatian presence in the east-Carpathian area during the 1st century AD, as well as the Geto-Dacian and Sarmatian relations.

NEW FINDS OF THE MIRRORS OF SCYTHIAN AND SARMATIAN AGES FROM TRANS-KUBAN REGION

In recent years, on the territory of rural areas adjacent to the city of Armavir (Russian Federation), historically representing the Zakubanye (Trans-Kuban) region (i. e., the area of the left bank of the Kuban River), the number of bronze mirrors of Scythian and Sarmatian Ages have been found by chance. They entered the museums and museum corners of some cities and villages or were recorded in the private collections with subsequent fixation by local historians. The purpose of this paper is to publish the finds of this category which form a small but quite interesting and expressive series. The earliest of the presented specimens are finds from the village Uspenskоe. The first mirror from the Uspenskoe village (fig. 1: 1, 2) can be attributed to section I, type I, option 1 (mirrors with a central handle, round flat disc with a rim and segment loop) after T. M. Kuznetsova, and can be dated to the 7th—6th centuries BC. The second mirror from the village Uspenskoe (fig. 1: 3, 4) belongs to the 3rd variant of the indicated type, with a trapezoid loop. According to T. M. Kuznetsova, most of these mirrors are dated to the 6th century BC. Mirror 1 (fig. 2: 3, 4) from stanitsa Chamlykskaya can be considered to belong to type II, option 2 (according to I. I. Marchenko), which attributes the mirrors of this option to the 3rd—2nd centuries BC. The findings of modern Russian archaeologists make it possible to confirm the total dating of mirrors with scallops, similar to the published sample 2 from stanitsa Chamlykskaya (fig. 2: 1, 2) as 3rd—1st centuries BC.
 Mirrors 1, 3, 4 (fig. 2: 5, 6; 3: 3—6) from stanitsa Voznesenskaya and mirror 3 from the village Uspenskoe (fig. 1: 5, 6), in our opinion, can be included to the number of copies of type III, version 1 by I. I. Marchenko. The date of the mirrors of this version, according to this author, is the second half of the 4th—3rd centuries BC. Mirror 2 from stanitsa Voznesenskaya (fig. 3: 1, 2) belongs to type I, option 2 according to I. I. Marchenko. The archaeologist dates the finds of type I option 2 to the second half of the 4th — 2nd centuries BC. The mirrors presented in the publication complement the geography and characteristics of the early Iron Age mirrors found in the eastern part of the Trans-Kuban region.

North Caucasus aborigine population in VII-IX centuries Adighe-Zikhes and different states of Dagestan

The article sets out howthe formation process of Aborigen population - Adighe-Zikhes and Dagestan as astate, had developed in North Caucasus in VII-IX centuries.For that period, Adyghes occupied black sea coast in the South-East of Tamans peninsula which had been ruled by Gothic-Tetraksite. the mentioned process served to strengthen Zikhes tribe, which became quitsignificant and prominentevenearlier in 1st century BC. In VIII century there appear plenty of state units in the territory of Dagestan as a result of society development. The “kingdoms” such as Tabasaran, Sarir, Kaitag, Gumukand atc. become established. These political units owned the territories of Dagestan main ethnic groups. Within these political units went formation process of Dagestan Main ethnos.

Римский скульптурный портрет и вотивный портрет республиканского времени (предварительные сравнительные данные по обобщённым портретам)

The materials for the composite portraits were images from electronic antique collections of museums, image banks and catalogs. To obtain visual images of the studied groups, the composite portrait method was used in a digital program. Results and discussion. Unlike the roman sculptural portrait of the 1st century BC, which has a specific purpose and real prototypes, prototypes of votive terracotta heads of the 3rd – 1st centuries BC can be both real people and typified model-forms. The main differences between the composite roman portraits from the etruscan-italic votives relate to the orbital part of the face, the nose width and the upper lip hight. The composite images of the roman votives of Latium are similar to the composite roman sculptural portrait in the nose width. The morphological differences between the votive portrait and the Roman republican sculptural portrait can be a reflection of really different anthropological types, which does not except the presence of the cumulative (Greeks, Etruscans, Latins) canon of morphological form in votive portraits. Conclusion. The early Roman portrait, represented by two distinctive forms of portraiture, reveals different anthropological types. The extent to which a possible morphological canon of votive heads gifts is influenced by Greek prototypes can be determined by comparison with a composite Greek portrait.

Study of Lacquer Objects and Their Fragments from the Orgoyton and Ilmovaya Pad Burial Grounds

This study presents the results of an investigation of the lacquer objects excavated from the Orgoyton and Ilmovaya pad burial grounds in Tzabaikalia (1st century BC–1st century CE). This study is devoted to the examination of the materials used for the lacquer coating on the objects. Polarization Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) analyzes were applied for pigment identification. The results show a multilayer structure of the preparatory layers of the lacquer coating. Aluminosilicates, finely ground bone, possibly burnt, calcium containing minerals (chalk or lime) were found in the ground layers. Vermilion was for the red color of the top paint layer of both red-coated artifacts.

Chemical and Pb-Isotopic Characteristics of Metal of Silver Coins of the Bosporus and Ionia Dated from the 5th to 1st centuries BC

Chemical and Pb-Isotopic Characteristics of Metal of Silver Coins of the Bosporus and Ionia Dated from the 5th to 1st centuries BC

К хронологии «кладов» конского снаряжения раннесарматского времени

In 2017, a ritual deposit was found accidentally near Malynivka village in Petrovo district of Kirovohrad region. It belongs to the category of sites known in the literature as “odd” assemblages (M. B. Shchukin), the votive or ritual “hoards”. The find consists of Roman provincial bronze vessels (Bargfeld type situla and Aylesford type pan), silver and lead bridle roundels, five pairs of iron bits and cheek-pieces, five frontlets with a hook, and ten iron socketed arrowheads. Parallels to these items are dated to the 2nd—1st centuries BC. The Aylesford pan, which was first found in the North Pontic region, specifies the date of the assemblages to the first half of the 1st century BC. The topography of the parallels makes it possible to associate this find with the Northwestern Caucasus or Kuban region and determine its cultural affiliation as Sarmatian. The date and cultural attribution of the assemblage does not exclude the connection of this and similar “odd” assemblages (Marievka, Bădragii Noi, Vesela Dolyna, Hordashivka, etc.) with the raids of the Sarmatians and Maeotians from Kuban region.

Еще раз о бронзовых сосудах из Мутинского могильника (о германских воинах на Сейме и германо-сарматских контактах на рубеже нашей эры)

The author attempts to attribute bronze vessels found on the late 1st century BC burial-ground near the village of Mutin on the right bank of the Sejm river in the north-east of the Ukraine. In particular, he offers a detailed discussion on the Beaucaire situla, belonging to a rare type of Late Republican vessels, distributed mainly in the south of France and northern Italy, which in the European Barbaricum, until now, was represented only by a find from the Ehestorf-Vahrendorf cemetery on the Lower Elbe. He studies traces of repairs on the Mutin vessels. These observations make it possible to specify possible origin of the warriors cremated in Mutin, about 2,000 km east of the Lower Saxony. The find in one of the burials of a round-bottomed cauldron with a spherical body is compared with the cauldrons from the Sarmatian burials of the 1st century BC — 1st century AD in the Don region, the interfluve of Don and Volga and the Kuban region. Such cauldrons are unknown either in the Roman Empire or in Germania magna, thus, allowing to suggest that the warrior, who was cremated in the burial-ground on the Sejm river could get it as a result of contacts with the Sarmatians. Other arguments support the hypothesis that the contacts of the Germans with the Sarmatians could have taken place much earlier than previously assumed, in the last decades of the 1st century BC and that such contacts could be mostly in the military context.

The Wooden Roof Framing Elements, Furniture and Furnishing of the Etruscan Domus of the Dolia of Vetulonia (Southern Tuscany, Italy)

The Etruscan Domus of the Dolia remained hidden until 2009, when archaeological excavations began in the Etruscan–Roman district of Vetulonia (Southern Tuscany). Based on the classification of the archaeological materials recovered, the destruction of the Domus and the Etruscan city of Vetulonia was traced back to the 1st century BC. The highly various and precious materials recovered inside the Domus revealed the richness of the building and its inhabitants. With this study, we present the anthracological analyses from the Domus of the Dolia. Wood charcoals were recovered from different house rooms, which had different functions based on the archaeological evidence. The tree species employed for the construction of the roof of the building were deciduous and semi-deciduous oak wood (Quercus sect. robur, Quercus sect. cerris) and silver fir wood (Abies cf. alba). Evergreen oak wood (Quercus sect. suber), boxwood (Buxus sempervirens), beech wood (Fagus cf. sylvatica), maple wood (Acer sp.) and cherry wood (Prunus cf. avium) were adopted for the furniture and furnishings of the house. Moreover, wood charcoal fragments of fruit trees belonging to the family of Rosaceae were identified, documenting a possible garden inside the court of the house. The study shows the use of the local tree species primarily. The silver fir wood and beech wood were likely sourced from the nearby (roughly 60 km) Mount Amiata.

Genesis of the Silk Road and Its Northern Directions

This article argues that the conclusions in the prevailing modern scientific literature on the formation of the Great Silk Road 3rd‑2nd millennium BC or from the 4th‑3rd centuries BC cannot be considered reasonable in light of available scientific and archival evidence. Until the 3rd‑2nd centuries BC at the western and northern borders of Xinjiang Region the predominantly Caucasoid population of Xinjiang contacted the related cultures of Kazakhstan and Sayano-Altai, but did not have any noticeable or documented trade (exchange) connections with the eastern Mongols of the Gansu Corridor, nor with farmers of ancient China and nomads of Northern China. Significant migrations of the population from Xinjiang to China and in the opposite direction between the third and the first half of the 1st millennium BC according to the available archaeological records has not been observed. The Silk Road from China through Xinjiang to the west with the direct involvement of the Chinese, only begins to function in the 1st century BC, and then only when the Han Empire at great cost finally succeeded in pushing the Hunnu out of Xinjiang, and established control over this territory. This event was preceded by active trade relations between the northern kingdoms of China and the nomads of Southern Siberia in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC and the delivery of the gifts to the Huns from the Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BC. This enabled silk and varnish products to penetrate Southern Siberia, Central Asia and then back into Xinjiang

Ships and boats of late Prehistoric and Roman Nauportus. New evidence and some remarks on the transfer and innovation in the shipbuilding technologies on the northern fringes of the Mediterranean 2nd century BC – 1st century AD

Abstract: This paper discusses the archaeological evidence regarding the unique navigational environment of the Ljubljansko barje (Ljubljana Marshes) in the 2nd – 1st centuries BC. The evidence consists of the renowned and almost completely preserved flat- bottomed boat of sewn construction from Lipe (1890), the newly discovered sewn boat of a presumably similar size and technology from the Ljubljanica River at Vrhnika (2015), and the very large oak logboat also from Vrhnika featuring complex repairs and other unusual technical solutions. The construction details of all three watercraft originate in Mediterranean shipbuilding practices, but arguably lean on local tradition embedded in the broader socio-cultural environment of the pre-Roman populations of the northern Adriatic and its immediate hinterland.

A roman barge from the Kupa River at Kamensko, Croatia: Evidence of a Regional Shipbuilding Tradition of the Danube River Basin in Southeastern Europe

The Kamensko barge is a flat-bottomed fluvial vessel dated between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD. Its remains lie on the riverbed of the Kupa next to the town of Karlovac in Croatia. Constructed mostly from oak on the principles of bottom- based construction, it is 2 m wide and preserved to a length of 12 m. On its last journey it was transporting a cargo of several hundred bricks. Its interesting structural features suggest a kin- ship with other Roman-era shipwrecks from the Danube hydro-graphical basin.

Новый позднескифский некрополь Танагельды в Предгорном Крыму

This is the first publication of the archaeological material obtained from the research of the necropolis Tanageldy of 2nd—1st centuries BC in the Piedmont Crimea. The expedition of the Scythian Neapolis Museum-Reserve in 2017 explored 3 collective ground crypts on the necropolis’s territory which belongs to a large settlement complex of ancient times in the city of Kara-Tau. Observations obtained in the course of a detailed anthropological analysis of the buried are curious. Mainly young women, adolescents and children were buried in the underground crypts, the bones of many of them reflect the consequences of routine hard physical labor. This phenomenon can be associated with the developed terraced farming, traces of which were found on the territory of the settlement complex. In one of the crypts, a skull of a man was discovered, with traces of three surgical interventions and separated from the body in ancient times.

Два ритуальных клада эпохи Митридатовых войн из Нижнего Подонья

The article is about two ritual deposits of the 2nd—1st centuries BC from the Lower Don region. The first votive hoard was found in 2018 in the inter-mound space of Turbuta III burial ground and transferred to the NovocherkasskMuseum of the History of Don Cossacks. The complex consisted of a crumpled bronze situla and helmet, a set of silver phalerae and a frontlet, as well as six sets of bits and cheekpieces. In 2016, information about another ritual deposit from illegal excavations in the Rostov region got on the Internet. Both complexes are very similar in composition, the nature of ritual damage, and the way things are placed. Phalerae and the frontlet from Turbuta III find close analogies in the well-known Starobelsk hoard. Obviously, in the Lower Don region, the same pattern can be traced as in the Northern Black Sea region — the connection of sets of phalerae with votive hoards. The helmets from both hoards are later versions of the Celtic helmets with a reinforced crown. It is difficult to determine unambiguously whether these helmets were made by Celtic armourer, or in a workshop of one of the Hellenistic kingdoms according to Celtic patterns. Situlae are believed to have been part of Roman military equipment. Probably, objects from both ritual deposits reflect participation of the Sarmatians in the Mithridatic wars, recorded in written sources.

A glass Gem Depicting a Dying Niobid From the National Museum in Warsaw

The National Museum in Warsaw holds a diverse collection of glass gems, both ancient and modern. One of these, a specimen depicting a dying Niobid supported by his sister, belongs to a wider group of objects scattered throughout various European museums. Such gems were mainly produced during the 1st century BC and their decoration is derived from a fragment of a relief carved by Pheidias on the statue of Zeus in Olympia which portrays the massacre of the Niobids. The fact that these gems were made of glass indicates that objects with such decorations were appreciated and popular. The myth of Niobe, in both Greek and Roman art, served multiple purposes highlighted by the choice of the story’s motives most often used in decorations. However, the reason for the use of this particular fragment of Pheidias’s relief to decorate gems as well as their popularity require additional explanation.