Dénesi Tamás (szerk.): Collectanea Sancti Martini - A Pannonhalmi Főapátság Gyűjteményeinek Értesítője 8. (Pannonhalma, 2020)
III. Régészet
174 Szabadváry Tamás: Miracula fontis Tamás Szabadváry Miracula fontis. An Old Testament scene on a late Roman ring fragment Traces of Early Christianity in Roman Pannonia are well attested in historical sources from the middle of the 3rd century onwards. Concerning some parts of the province, written sources are scattered or almost entirely missing (e.g. the northeastern Transdanubia region), thus information about the phases of Christianization shows a different degree. Developing tendencies of archaeological methods and research largely contribute to the growing numbers of late Roman finds. In this paper we are examining a rare copper alloy ring fragment with the stylized representation of the wellknown Old Testament scene of Moses, the miracula fontis – now belonging to a private collection (the item was allegedly found in county Baranya, Hungary). The bezel shows a draped man standing left, holding a long stick (virga thaumaturga ) in his hand and pointing to a rough, amorphous surface, which represents the rock (the Biblical Mount Horeb / Sinai) wherefrom the water will sprinkle. According to our recent knowledge, this is the first ring in the territory of modern Hungary depicting the aforementioned Biblical scene, which now could be complemented with a longknown (and unidentified) piece of Gyulafirátót (county Veszprém). The rings also have good parallels among late Roman bronze figural casket mounts, originating from wellknown Pannonian sites like Árpás ( Mursella ), Dunaújváros (Intercisa ) or Traismeuer, representing the same standardized composition. Other analogous rings with the same depiction recovered in the Rhine region, an important gravefind came to light at BonnNordstraße 48 (grave 14). The ring lay near the left overarm, originally it may had been worn on the left hand. The grave also included a cast bronze crossbow brooch usually dated to the first third of the 4th century. Another piece recovered in the cemetery of Krefeld Gellep (grave 5714) from a late Roman context, a ring also recovered near VaisonlaRomaine, France, further two rings are from unknown provenance.
