Mária T. Biró: The Bone Objects of the Roman Collection. (Catalogi Musei Nationalis Hungarici. Seria Archeologica 2; Budapest, 1994)
V. BONE OBJECTS CONNECTED WITH COSMETICS AND PHYSICAL CULTURE - 4. Casket mounts
4. Casket mounts Investigations on Roman caskets (Nos. 459472.) referred so far primarily to caskets with metal mounts. Caskets were made for different purposes and with different destinations. Maybe they were given to women as wedding present and they were also placed beside them in the grave. It is very probable that caskets had also a certain symbolic meaning as the mythological subjects and religious representations on them suggest. The placing of caskets in the graves hints at the same possibility. Caskets had their use also in everyday life; women kept their perfumeries, paints and cosmetic devices in such caskets. All the conclusions by D. Gáspár 91 about caskets with metal mounts refer just as well on caskets with bone inlay. Caskets with bone inlay were first observed by E. B. Vágó in Roman cemetery of Dunapentele. The casket reconstruction is on display on the spot , in the Town Museum. Bone inlays have come to light mostly as stray finds. In the stores of museums there are many decorated bone plates of irregular shape to be found. These plates are very similar to the bone lamellae decorating necklaces. However, the circular or polygonal bone plates where instead of the bore serving for attaching traces of rivets (No. 469.) or on the back of which discolouring hinting at bronze can be found — were possibly bone inlays decorating caskets. (No. 463.) The plates were often decorated with concentric circles like those on combs and bracelets. On one of the bone plates the traces of gilt have also remained. (No. 465.) The number of calcinated fragments is strikingly large among them. The quantity of bone inlays is very different in the various settlements. A great number was found in Dunapentele while much less in Tác and Szőny. The shape of the bone mounts placed on caskets was very diversified (Nos. 459-469.): triangle, square, polygon and circle shapes were equally found. It was not only the decorative cover that was sometimes made of bone but there were also latches (No. 472.) and circular plates covering the latches made of bone. The plastically embossed bone plate fastened with rivet was the bone covering lamellae of a latch. There are two completely corresponding circular plates in the Collection from Dunapentele and from the distant Petronell respectively. (Nos. 470-471.)
