Garam Éva szerk.: Between East and West - History of the peoples living in hungarian lands (Guide to the Archaeological Exhibition of the Hungarian National Museum; Budapest, 2005)

HALL 6 - The Roman Age (6 A.D.-420 A.D.) (László Kocsis, Endre Tóth)

80. Detail of the lapidarium with the mosaic floor from the Roman villa at Baláca J restoration work that the table was not threelegged as originally reconstructed, but had four legs. This delicately crafted masterpiece of the goldsmith's art is 114 cm high. Mythical creatures and tritons are perched atop each leg, griffins peek out from the centre, and each leg rests on a child riding a dolphin. The legs are each framed with a beadrow, typical for the silver and goldwork of the late Roman period (Case 14; Figs 77-78). A part of the lapidarium too contains finds from the Roman Age (Figs 79-80), as does a smaller room containing the altar and the frescoes from the Mithras sanctuary in the Aquincum legionary fort, together with the relics of minting. There were two mints in Pannónia. The Siscia/Sisak mint in southern Pannónia began its activity in 262 and remained the most important mint in the Middle Danube region until 388. The mint principally produced bronze coins, but silver medallions were also struck. The other mint lay in Sirmium/Sremska Mitrovica, a town which housed the imperial residence in the mid-4th century. As a result, very few bronze coins were struck in the Sirmium mint, which produced high-quality gold coins (aurea), minted in different weights. The coins were often mounted in a delicate, openwork frame. The medals were highly-prized imperial gifts throughout Europe. The prism shaped, 17 cm long gold ingots, part of the booty seized by the Visigoths (or part of the imperial subsidy paid to them) who occupied Dacia after it was evacuated by Rome, were produced in the Sirmium mint.