Alba Regia. Annales Musei Stephani Regis. – Alba Regia. Az István Király Múzeum Évkönyve. 23. 1984-1985 – Szent István Király Múzeum közleményei: C sorozat (1987)

Tanulmányok – Abhandlungen - Biró Mária, T.: Gorsium bone carvings. p. 25–63.

Such bone plaques in the same size are also known from Brigetio (MNM inv. nr. 63.21.55 unpublished) and from Aquincum (BTM. inv. nr. 53.82 unpublished). On the analogous small cube (Koronco, MNM inv. nr. 120.1879.7 unpublished) there are traces of an iron rivet to be seen. This necklace was not a primitive, "selfcarved" ornament of somebody but a set of ornaments fixed into a strip of leather which was worn all over the province. Stringed ornaments are also the monile or the phalera. A phalera kept at the British Museum has similarly shield-shaped ornaments, but both necklace types are made up of similar motives strictly repeated, while each link of this necklace is different. Stringed on a thick ribbon or leather strip such trinkets made up of alternating figures are known from antique children portrayals. The best known example is a small terracotta statuette from the Louvre (PL 4). Across the child's breast there are small ornaments, toys, tools, amulets stringed on a ribbon; that is a crepundia. Such a chain is to be seen on the child Bacchus on one of the mirrors of the Neaples Museum; and the statue of Eros, pictured on one of the vases of the British Museum is wearing the same (DARENBERG

—SAGLIO 1877, II, 602; IV, 864). Near the crepundia, on both sides of the wall there were four discs (24. 25. 26. 27). One of them has an indented edge and is slightley oval in shape and the numerical value X is incised on it (Fig. 30). This type has been known from the site of the vicus. Such discs were brought to the surface in great numbers by the excavations at Magdalensberg. Egger calls them Rechen- i.e. Kontrolmarken (Counters i.e. controllers). According to him X signified denarius and the l- half (EGGER 1956,161). In our case the crossed X may mean the half of a denarius while the other disc may mean one and an indefinable number. The other discs, found on the site of building IX together with those of the Magdalensberg types are also rather counters than figures belonging to a game of draughts. We have to distinguish between these discs and the one with the indented edge and decorate with concentric circles, being larger than the disc from Magdalensberg but its edge is worked in the same way. Perhaps just this indentation running around the edge of the disccs was the means by which counters and other discs used at games could be told apart. The edge-ring is in many cases indented almost like a cog-wheel (Figs. 178, 422). The indented discs can be found at each settlement but in much lower numbers than specimen made with the concentric circles. The use of counters was a natural part in the daily life of the Romans. Instead of putting down in addition, they counted with the help of their fingers i.e. with counters (BONNER, 1977, 167). Discs were also used when dealing with a large scale of values, proved by the illustration on the so-called Darius vase which shows the scribe controlling the delivered tax with the help of couters (Kretzschmer

—Heinsius 1951, 101; PI 5). The slave listening to his master's testament is also counting using counters (BONNER 1977, 182, figs. 24—25). If high numbers are involved in counting with the help of counters, either such a tabulator is necessary on which place value can be marked (Plin. Ep., VI, 33) or the denomination has to be marked on the disc itself (discs from Magdalensberg), or else some other formal distinction has to be used to be able to tell apart digits, tens and hundreds. Such marking may also Fig. 6. Clerk from the Darius vase working with countres be the indentation on the edge of discs. Though the proof we possess is not sufficient to cleat up the use of all types of bone discs, it is a great step forward that we can prove, for the first time, their simultaneous appearance with counters. I define, accordingly, the disc with indented edge found jointly with the disc at Magdalensberg as a calculus. On the site of the templum prouinciae beside the calculi there was a needle with three eyes (Fig. 32) as well, its use will be discussed in detail together with the nympheum where this type of needle was found in large numbers. The bone carvings of the earliest period from Gorsium are made up of finds having been discussed above. Acus crinalis was manufactured, according to its provincial spread, from the time of the Flauii up to the time of the building of area sacra, i.e. until the beginning of the second century. Neither the objects originating from the time before the buliding of area sacra nor the carvings scattered on the site of the uicus are native in character, they are of Italian shape, articles of everyday use and of Roman fashion; acus crinalis, acus discrinalis, crepundia, and Magdalensberg calculi. Nympheums (Figs. 41—70). The facade of the great hall of the area sacra ended in a long wall, with three stairs on the north side leading up to the sanctuary. Between the approaches two fountains poured out their water. Then nympheums were built at the same time as the area sacra, around the year 120. In the second period, from 136—137, the fountains were not in use any more. They were destroyed during the Markomann wars in such measure that there was no way to restore them any more. The ground above them was levelled which caused the great difference in level existing between the 2nd and 4th centuries. The finds are secondary but they cannot be later than the middle of the 2nd century. Beside the eastern fountain fragments of two bone jars and two spatulae had been unearthed (Figs. 67, 68, 69, 70). There were numerous small ointment jars to be found in Roman houses. Plinius calls them ungeuentorum scrinium (HN, VII 108; XXXVI 12); Cicero (Fin., II, 7), Martialis 29