Pinctada margaritifera box from Viminacium
A Pinctada margaritifera box was unearthed at Viminacium in 1985, at the site of Pe}ine, in a grave containing cremated remains. It was made from the shell of a pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera), an exotic clam whose habitat is tropical seas: the Indo-Pacific region, the Persian Gulf, a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Starinar |
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| Online Access: | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-0241/2017/0350-02411767075S.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811200122457948160 |
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| author | Spasić-Đurić Dragana Lj. |
| author_facet | Spasić-Đurić Dragana Lj. |
| author_sort | Spasić-Đurić Dragana Lj. |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A Pinctada margaritifera box was unearthed at Viminacium in 1985, at the site
of Pe}ine, in a grave containing cremated remains. It was made from the shell
of a pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera), an exotic clam whose habitat is
tropical seas: the Indo-Pacific region, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea.
Based on the grave type and a coin found in it, the box has been dated to the
second half of the first and the first half of the second century AD.
Morphologically and functionally, it represents a rare find in the territory
of present-day Serbia and, together with the finds from Aquincum and Savaria,
it is also a rare find of P. margaritiferae in the Central Balkans. It is a
high-prestige item, indicative of contacts between Viminacium and the Near
East, i.e. the area of present-day Israel, Jordan and Syria, where the
workshops producing Pinctada boxes are alleged to have been. This text
discusses the geographic-historical and, in particular, functional aspects of
the P. margaritifera box as a symbol of Venus and a cultic prop in initiation
rites. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:59:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b61ab0b7bf154ebca018edf0c9919de3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0350-0241 2406-0739 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:59:32Z |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
| publisher | Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade, Serbia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Starinar |
| spelling | doaj.art-b61ab0b7bf154ebca018edf0c9919de32022-12-22T03:52:43ZdeuInstitute of Archaeology, Belgrade, SerbiaStarinar0350-02412406-07392017-01-01201767759310.2298/STA1767075S0350-02411767075SPinctada margaritifera box from ViminaciumSpasić-Đurić Dragana Lj.0National Museum, PožarevacA Pinctada margaritifera box was unearthed at Viminacium in 1985, at the site of Pe}ine, in a grave containing cremated remains. It was made from the shell of a pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera), an exotic clam whose habitat is tropical seas: the Indo-Pacific region, the Persian Gulf, and the Red Sea. Based on the grave type and a coin found in it, the box has been dated to the second half of the first and the first half of the second century AD. Morphologically and functionally, it represents a rare find in the territory of present-day Serbia and, together with the finds from Aquincum and Savaria, it is also a rare find of P. margaritiferae in the Central Balkans. It is a high-prestige item, indicative of contacts between Viminacium and the Near East, i.e. the area of present-day Israel, Jordan and Syria, where the workshops producing Pinctada boxes are alleged to have been. This text discusses the geographic-historical and, in particular, functional aspects of the P. margaritifera box as a symbol of Venus and a cultic prop in initiation rites.http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-0241/2017/0350-02411767075S.pdfAphrodite/VenusinitiationCypruslustrationshellpars pro totoPinctada margaritiferaViminaciumclam |
| spellingShingle | Spasić-Đurić Dragana Lj. Pinctada margaritifera box from Viminacium Starinar Aphrodite/Venus initiation Cyprus lustration shell pars pro toto Pinctada margaritifera Viminacium clam |
| title | Pinctada margaritifera box from Viminacium |
| title_full | Pinctada margaritifera box from Viminacium |
| title_fullStr | Pinctada margaritifera box from Viminacium |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pinctada margaritifera box from Viminacium |
| title_short | Pinctada margaritifera box from Viminacium |
| title_sort | pinctada margaritifera box from viminacium |
| topic | Aphrodite/Venus initiation Cyprus lustration shell pars pro toto Pinctada margaritifera Viminacium clam |
| url | http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0350-0241/2017/0350-02411767075S.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT spasicđuricdraganalj pinctadamargaritiferaboxfromviminacium |