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

IV. HAIR-STYLES THE USE OF BONE HAIR-PINS, AND COMB USE OF THE ROMANS - 1. Undecorated bone hair-pins - 2. Globular pins

Thus, the research of Germans, similarly to bone combs, can produce much more results as to the chronology and fashion value of bone pins (coming mostly from unearthing cemeteries).

73 They have made clear such cardinal problems as the different fashion of bone pins with different social layers. In the Barbaricum they were — as opposed to former suppositions •— not the fashion of the poor. More bone hair-pins can be found in graves where the rate of wares of Roman import is larger. Consequently, the striking fact is, that bone hair-pins were the fashion of well-to-do Germans who remained in constant relationship with the Empire. In the provinces, especially in the 4th century, the people who created the fashion of bone jewellery, and the position of those wearing them in the society are still unknown, because of the small number of detailed analyses of cemeteries. Provincial research has so far mostly published the inventory of great public museum collections — Ruprechtsberger, Béai, Dural — thus paying off this accumulated debt. These finds were mostly appropriate for making typological questions clear. The first step is difficult because the quantity of bone pins is huge and the majority is without any characteristics and were used for four hundred years unaltered; due to their simple form, no conclusion can be drawn as to their workshop. Within bone hair-pins three major groups can be distinguished. The first group is constituted by the simple pins which have no decoration whatsoever (neither carving not incising). These are pointed bone sticks polished smooth. The second is the group of "pins with global head"

. One end of these pins was processed; according to the shape of this processed pin head this group can be further divided to types with drop-, oval- or onion-head. Pins in the third group are richly decorated and it is almost impossible to create their typology because of the number of varieties; in their motifs they have preserved elements of the folklore and belief of Mediterranean where the tradition of wearing bone pins is coming from. 1. Undecorated bone hair-pins It is the simplest type of bone hair-pins. The piece of bone was polished around its whole surface and one end was pointed. The polishing is in some cases not perfect and the polishing carried on longitudinally was is some cases not smoothed at the meeting points, thus creating flat surfaces and in such cases the wider end of the pins is not circular but polygonal in its cross section. This wider end of the pins is either polished straight or it is also pointed. (Nos. 99-151.) With pins of good quality the traces of carving the point is Fig. 9. Hair pins in a box from Pompeii polished like the pin unearthed by A. Radnóti. (No. 150.) From the Collection there are 55 pins belonging to this group. From this quantity a certain trend can be observed. On the basis of their length two groups can be outlined. The smaller are 8-9 cm long, the larger 12/13 cm long. From the thickness of the pins it is not possible to conclude to their length; moreover, comparatively thicker pins are usually shorter. There are no traces of wear on them, however a curved pin can be found at each settlement. (No. 107.) As to their employment we can only set that there were great quantities made of them and two sizes were required with a rather big, 4-5 cm difference in size between them. 2. Globular pins Globular pins are the most frequent objects made of bone. They have come to light at every settlement in masses. The sub-groups of the type were formed according to the possibilities of processing techniques (turned or hand carved). I. Pins with large globular head. (Nos. 152-153.) In the case of this type the global head of the pin is relatively big as compared to the length. Sometimes the diameter of the globular