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.

1. The remains of mud plastered huts from the second half of the first century. 2. Remains of adobe walls from the second century. 3. The representative building decorated with frescoes erected during the reign of the Seveii. 4. From the fourth century iron smelting works and a basilica minor are known from this site. A nail-headed pin (Fig. 155), a needle with an elongated groove (Fig. 162), three three-eyed pins dress (Figs. 157, 158,159), further, a pin with s peculiar shape were found, the latter being, in my opinion, also a dress pin (Fig. 160). The pin is exactly the same as the needes with the circular cross section and the figure-eight shaped eyelet but the side view shows clearly that the worn surface is not between top and eye as it is with needles at the two sides of the eye. It was probably an decorative pin; a chain was passed through the hole, perhaps this chain fixed it to another pin, as can be seen on fibulae from the Bronze Age. On the "fibula-pin" from Tokod there are engraved ornaments to be seen throughout its length (Tokod, Elisabeth pit, 1960. 34 44 unpublished) and there are several ones from Aquincum not only incised cross-hatching but decorated with deep plastic carvings ruling out in advance the possibility of sewing (BTM. inv. nr. 51.154, 52.741, 52.743). Moreover, on one of them from Aquincum there are still the remains of the first link of the chain (PI. 9). The occurrance of such a dress pin at the same place at Gorsium strengthens my hypothesis regarding their use. Found in the NW part of the area there was also an ornamental pin with three collars (Figs. 141, 189) which came to light in building VII. The plum-stone shaped pin head is also represented here (Fig. 149, 152), its earliest appearance bing at the forum but this type can also be found among the find material from the fourth century tabernae. Another group, from the west part of the building in the 7th

—8th spit, immediately above the stratum of the Flavian era, consists of a pin with bird-shaped head (Fig.139), a whistle (Fig. 135), two plaqwes (Figs. 136,137), further, the fragments of an ivory comb. On one side of the comb a female figure is portrayed, the the hands positioned in a typical eastern way. The portrayal is from India and, beside the statue of the Indian dancer from Pompei, it is one of those few works of Indian art which reached the Empire and not only the raw material came from India. Considering the importance of this comb I published in Acta Arch. 37, 1985. The pin ending in a bird-shape, though the bird's head is broken, is obviously a more successful animal representation than those found throughout the province. The plastic neck of the shaft and the anatomical corretly pictured plumage differ from all known representations which are extremely abstract. In the often cited essay by Ruprechtsberger he deals with the apotropaic role of pins with animal-shaped head in detail. I only wish to complete his interesting conclusions by stating that we, too, can notice here in Gorsium their wearers being particularly attached to their pins picturing small animals, they must have worn them a very long time, in some cases the animal figures are unrecognizably rubbed away. Secondary use can also be proved. The cock-headed pin from grave 95, worn shiny as the one unearthed from building XXXVII was made wearable by the carver by engraving it with a net in squares. ^ Fig. 16. Dress pin with bronze chain The small-sized bone whistle is known from Savaria and Brigetio. From the excavations at Stare Mesto Hruby publishes a whole series of such bone whistles (1957, 118—217). The shape, independent from site or period, is determined by the nature of the bone raw material. The two plates are, unfortunately, not so easily explained. From the two cca. 14 cm long bone plates a small disc resting on a narrow neck is cut out at one end of each (Figs. 137,138). A bone plate from Carnuntum of similar shape is decorated on both sides in relief (KUBITSCHEK

—FRANKFURTER 1904, 51.). Egger describe the plates from Magdalensberg as money-bag labels (1956, 157). The bone plates inscribed with the names of gladiators or the then officiating consul were of similar shape (A Guide 1908, 197). Similar plates were used to play a game of chance which used to be very popular then, where on one side there were numbers, on the other words (ibid. 197). As from this site, other playing things were broungt to light, as well, consequently I find it conceivable that these bone plates were also made for gambling. At the front, facing the street two bone object were found. One of them is a cylinder (Fig. 131), the other one is a small cone shaped jarlike object ending in a spiral with its top being carved separately (Fig. 133). Another such figure was dug up at Gorsium. Both carvings are figures of ludus latrunculorum, a game recalling a game of chess. This game was with tall figures carved in different shapes. It used to be already popular among Egyptians. On one of the papyri of the British Museum, a lion and an antelope arc playing together; the distinguishing feature is the forming of the top of the tall cylindrical figures in two ways (conical and flat). The game was taken over by both Greeks and Romans. P. Steiner published in the thirties a number of figures belonging to games (1939, Taf. 20) and among them there are several conical figures of different size, with a top that can be lifted and the traces of turning are also discernible on the jacket of the figure. The top of this type is a fitting disc, decorated with characteristic flower motives. This kind of disc with a hole in the centre and with flower motives is known from Gorsium as well (Fig. 218). Summing up the bone finds found on the site of the house with the frescoes, dated to Severus, considering their style we have to distinguish at least two groups. The first group, the early one, is made up of dress 38