Mária T. Biró: The Bone Objects of the Roman Collection. (Catalogi Musei Nationalis Hungarici. Seria Archeologica 2; Budapest, 1994)

II. CARVED BONE ORNAMENTS OF THE PROVINCIAL WEAR - 3. Dress pins (fibulae)

3. Dress pins (fibulae) Fig. 5. Dress pins from greek vase paintings The history of research from the Early Bronze Age to the Migration Period has soon realized the chronological significance of dress pins (fibulae). Gradually the role of fibulas making military badges was also outlined. Research, however, has failed to give an account so far of their religious-historical background and symbolism. Fibulas, however represent but one part of dress pins made of needle. Fibulas were the forerunners of the so-called safety pins; they were bone and metal dress pins where the length, the finally formed needle heads or the thread passed through the pin and rolled on it again thus fixing the leg of the needle pinned into the cloth. These primary forms survive parallel with the employment of fibulas, first of all in everyday wear of people of modest status. The description of dress pins is hard because of the poor number of representations which would hint at their destination; on the other hand the find material is — because of the technical possibilities of bone processing not unambiguous. Dress pins, hair pins, spindles were all made in almost the same size, moreover, there are among bone pins referred to as sewing needles some specimens the original destination of which was dress pin. There is but one basis to differentiate between dress pins and hair pins — it is the size of the pins. In a number of Greek representations it is discernible that of the pins turned to the same pattern the longer one is the dress pin, the shorter is the hair pin. Excavations prove that their employment was similar in both cultural circles. Still, on Roman representations dress pins occur rather seldom while it survived in a great number of Greek representations: on vases, reliefs (Fig. 5.). It is striking and at the same time serving as an explanation that pins unearthed in Greek excavations are very large, 30 cm-long pieces are quite common. This frequency respectively lack of representation should be interpreted that the large-sized carved dress pins of the Greeks could better appear on representations than the 10-12 cm long pins of the Romans entirely hidden by the folds of the clothing. Their identification is made possible, beside their size, by their situation in the grave. The finest bone pin decorated with animal figure was lying beside the upper arm of a man at the Late Roman cemetery of Tác. Meaning, that is must have been a dress pin. The third criterion of determination may be, if there are traces of fastening the pin with metal, thread or strap. For differentiating dress pins the length of the pin, ways of fixing (bores), and situation in the grave are equally important while the manufacturing of the pins and the representations on them are meaningless. Due to the identical form produced by lathe technique and because of the surface covered by a similar row of astragalos the characteristic, 17-20 cm long, thin bone sticks (Nos. 51-55.), a specimen of which can be found in almost all Roman settlements are called uniformly as decorative pins. Although it is only a part of