Suburani

22. LIBERI

WEBLINKS

IMAGE GALLERY

The face of a young girl imprinted in plaster. Her eyes are closed.

D(IS) M(ANIBUS) / ET MEMOIRAE / CL(AUDIAE) VICTORIAE / QUAE VIXIT ANN(OS) X / MENS(EM) I DIES XI / CLAUDIA SEVERI/NA MATER FILIAE / DULCISSIMAE ET SIBI VIVA FECIT

An Egyptian mummy. On the front is a painted portrait of a young woman with her hair tied back and a centre parting.

Our character Hermione is based on a real person. This is a mummy portrait from Egypt with the name Hermione Grammatike written on it in Greek. Hermione is a grammatica, a teacher of literature; a male teacher was a grammaticus.

A rectangular wooden frame, the centre is filled with dark wax. On the surface Greek letters have been scratched on predrawn horizontal lines.

This wooden tablet covered in black wax and engraved with Greek writing is one of a pair, which would have been tied together. The tablets belonged to a schoolchild in Egypt in the second century ad. The top two lines are a quotation from the Greek poet Menander, and were probably written by the teacher. The child has then copied out the lines twice. Has the child made any mistakes?

A small statuette of a seated woman breastfeeding her baby on her lap.

This terracotta figure shows a woman breastfeeding a child. The figure may have been dedicated as a votive offering in the hope of concieving a child, or in thanks for the safe delivery of a child

A carved stone showing a young boy wearing a toga with a bulla on a cord around his neck. In his left hand he holds a scroll. Above are scenes of childcare and below is an image of a bull.

This large stone relief, either a votary offering or a funerary marker, comes from Carthage and shows a young man reaching adulthood.

A Carthaginian coin from around 290 bc. On one side is the head of the Punic goddess Tanit, who was associated with fertility. On the other side is a horse, an animal that was linked to the founding myth of Carthage.

A circular golden item with a lip at the top for stringing a cord through. On the centre is imprinted a rough face.

This gold bulla is about 2cm in length. It would have been worn as a pendant hanging around the neck from a cord or a leather strip. It is decorated with the head of a Gorgon. Why do you think this might be an appropriate image?

A roughly-cut carved stone with a circular top. In an alcove in the centre is a small boy holding a basket in his left hand and a hammer in his right. The detials of his face have been worn away. Below is an inscription in capital letters.

This stone marks the grave of a boy from a mining region in Spain. He is carrying a hammer and a basket. The inscription reads:
Quartulus, 4 years. May the earth lie lightly on you.

A terracotta doll in a simple form of a sitting woman. Her arms are by her side and her hair is arranged on her head.

This doll made of terracotta could have been a toy or an offering to a god. The body, head, and legs have been made in one piece, but the arms were attached separately. She has a snake bracelet on her right arm. Dolls were made out of other materials, including wood, bone, ivory, and linen.