Vándor Andrea szerk.: Janus Pannonius Múzeum Évkönyve 50-52/2 (2005-2007) (Pécs, 2008)

Magyar Zsolt: Trilobitenperlen from Dunaszekcső (Hungary)

0.2-0.8 cm cm; length of the channels: 1.4 cm; diameter of the channels: 0.3 cm; size of the matricae: 1.7 x 1.9 cm. Frontal view: four horizontal ribs, which are crossed by seven vertical lines; from the irregular spacing of these lines, one could assume that it was decorated by hand using a wirw after a second heating; is hardly flowed out from the matricae. Profile view: two horizontal channels, 0.10.2 cm apart from each other (different on the two sides); there are small chips on two corners. Back: with roundish shape. Figure 3. A karriert-gerript type two-channelled glass bead from Dunaszekcső 2 cm 2 cm Discussion Trilobitenperlen appear in late Roman time and could be found up to the eighth century AD. These glass beads came into use in the third century AD as cheap substitute for beads made from jet. In Antiquity jet were thought to be protective and attributed with healing power. It is likely that, the Trilobitenperlen were ascribed with the same attributions (Gesztelyi 1997, 63-65). In the third and fourth century AD the quick and cheap production of these artefacts became significant when mass demands for decorative things took precedence over the ideas of careful design and individual needs (Gesztelyi 1997, 67). It has been discussed that the two-channelled glass beads and cameos were part of bracelets in Late Antiquity (Gesztelyi 1997, 65; Gesztelyi 1998, 74-76). Relevant evidence, which support this argument are the bracelet found in Bátaszék-Kövesdpuszta (Péterfi 1993, 67) and the nine glass cameos, found in Pécs (Fülep 1984, 90-91; Nagy 2004, 121). Trilobitenperlen were made with bulloteria instead of the usual mould. Mould was commonly used for the production of other glass cameos and intaglios. The level of the face and the back of the two-channelled glass beads slightly differ and the glass usually is wider on one side than the other, which is the result of the upring position of the bulloteria. The production of nearly identical Trilobitenperlen had been found resulting from this technique, because they were made by the same or identical matricae A Janus Pannonius Múzeum Évkönyve 1 101