‘Incredible’ Gems From Roman Bathers Lost 2,000 Years Ago Have Been Found

Taking valuables to the pool with you is always a risk. The Romans should have been more careful, judging by the amount of gems recovered from the drain of one of their baths.

As many as 30 semi-precious stones have been discovered by archaeologists almost 2,000 years after their owners lost them on the spot in present-day Carlisle, just outside Hadrian’s Wall.

The stones have fallen out of their rings, their glue probably loosened in the steam baths. They were simply washed down the drain when cleaning pools and saunas.

Their loss would have been painful as they were engraved gemstones known as intaglios. Although they are only a few millimeters in diameter, they are inscribed with images whose extraordinary craftsmanship suggests that they were expensive objects in their time, late 2nd or 3rd century.

One bather lost an amethyst with the image of Venus holding either a flower or a mirror. Another lost a red-brown jasper depicting a satyr sitting on the rocks next to a sacred column.

Frank Gicco, an expert on Roman Britain leading the excavation of the bath, was amazed by the collection: “It’s incredible,” he said. “It caught everyone’s imagination. They just fell out of the rings of people who were taking a bath. They were fixed with vegetable glue and in a hot and sweaty bath they fell out of the adjusting rings.