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Why the specific Gallo-Roman geographic distribution? Presumably blacksmiths existed and needed "visiting cards" across the Roman Empire? As an impromptu digit
by nologic01 3y ago
Why the specific Gallo-Roman geographic distribution? Presumably blacksmiths existed and needed "visiting cards" across the Roman Empire?
As an impromptu digital armchair archeologist I'd say this very specific geographic dispersion suggests cultural / religious significance. In any case it weighs against a purely utilitarian role (that would easily diffuse across the empire).
Wax residue was found inside "one or two". Possibly used in a ceremony using candles. The protrusions might have been yarn anchors, not to knit gloves, but to form elaborate ritualistic symbols. I.e. imagine the bare metal covered with a colorful pattern that would be wound and unwound to match the occasion.
- arp242 3y agoConsidering the size and makeup of the Roman empire, I wouldn't be surprised if there were substantial differences in every-day purely utilitarian activities for no other reason than "that's how we do it here". People didn't even speak the same language (Britain never adopted Latin as a common language, and Gaul didn't until after these devices are dated). Unfortunately a lot of these details about every-day life are lost to history as no one bothered to write it down "as everyone already knows about it".
- shjake 3y agoArcheologists classifying every object they can’t explain the purpose of as a cult/religious/ritualistic item is a bit of cliche. I wonder what future archeologists might think about some of the stuff we have in a couple of thousand years if some societal collapse occurs in between. > Possibly used in a ceremony using candles It’s possible they could have also used it to hold candles outside of religious ceremonies.