Marisia - Maros Megyei Múzeum Évkönyve 34-35. (2014-2015)
Articles
Roman Military Equipment from Saraceni 35 Catalogue 1. Breast plate (Fig. 2) It is a bronze object (not from silver as was previously mentioned by Székely) from which only four fragments were kept in the Mures County Museum.43 Three from these were reintegrated and form the upper part of a bronze plate. The upper part of the breast late can be distinguished, slightly curved trying to imitate the curve of the neck. From the decoration one part can be observed in the shape of a string which follows the contour of the object and closes the upper register where a bird can be seen. The bird is an eagle which keeps its beak pointing upwards. The fourth fragment belongs to the same object but without knowing its exact place of discovery the decoration is the same, an embossed band in the shape of a string although slightly narrower. The thickness of the bronze plaque is 0,07 cm, its reconstructed width is 8 cm, height 8,9 cm and weight 5,23 g. It belongs to the type with three registers but unfortunately the middle and the lower registers were not preserved. It was decorated with the au repoussé technique with embossed ornaments with engraved and pierced details. Analogies: Given the highly fragmentary state of the object analogies can hardly be found. The exact position of the bird is not known neither is the nature of the representations from the other registers which would permit a precise identification. Bearing this in mind, the closest analogies are from Potaissa,44 Spain45 and Musov (CZ).46 2. Lorica squamata scale (Fig. 3) The bronze lorica squamata plate was found in 1958 at Säräteni and kept in the Mures County Museum.47 It has a rectangular shape with the exception of its lower rounded edge. It is broken in the area where three pairs of holes were located, on its two sides and in the upper part. The holes were used to fasten the scales among themselves and on a textile support or on a skin. Measurements: height: 1,5 cm, width: 1,2 cm, thickness of plate: 0,05 cm, weight: 0,12 g. Analogies: Buciumi,48 Carnuntum (type Von Groller nr. IV).49 43 Inv. Nr. 7805. 44 Isac - Bärbulescu 2008, 217, Abb. 22, 23, 25. 45 Aurrecoechea 2007,172, Fig. 8/1; Aurrecoechea 2010, 94, Fig. 2/1. 46 Komoróczy 2009, 124, Fig. 19. 47 Inv. Nr. 7805. 48 Chirilä et al. 1972, 67, Pl. LXVIII/2; D'Amato - Sumner 2009, 126, Fig. 153 a, b. 49 Bishop - Coulston 1993, 88, Fig. 51/1 (IV) Fig. 3. Lorica squamata scale from Säräteni. Drawn by M. Ferenczi, photographed by A. Dobos Fig. 4. Lorica squamata scales from Säräteni. Drawn by M. Ferenczi, photographed by A. Dobos
