In Roman bathhouse’s drain, archaeologists find 2,000-year-old gemstones

A stockpile of 2,000-year-old glittering gemstones have been found to be clogging the drain of a Roman bathhouse by archaeologists recently near Hadrian's Wall in Carlisle, England.

In the stockpile, around 30 engraved and semi-precious stones have been found. They are known as intaglios, which were likely dropped out of the ring settings worn by bathers during the second and third centuries A.D., media reports said.

Frank Giecco, the archaeologist leading the excavation, told The Guardian that it's incredible. It has caught everyone's imagination. These gemstones had just fallen out of the rings of people, who used the baths. These stones seem to have been set with vegetable glue. So, they fell out of the ring settings in the hot and sweaty bathhouse.


The intaglios seemed to be "minuscule" as the smallest measured around 0.2 inch in diameter (5 millimeters) and the largest was about 0.6 inch (16 mm). The craftsmanship to engrave such tiny stones is really incredible, Giecco said.


The archaeologists also found an amethyst in the excavation. It depicted the Roman goddess Venus, who was holding either a flower or a mirror and a piece of jasper engraved with a satyr lounging languidly on a bed of rocks, as per the media outlet.

Giecco said that you don't find such gems at low-status Roman sites. So, they are not something that would have been worn by the poor.

In the excavation, archaeologists also discovered around 40 women's hairpins and 35 glass beads.

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