[Bonetools] (Fwd) [ZOOARCH] Use animal bones in mosaic works

[Etan Ayalon]

Dear everybody and especially Mr. Al-Zawahra,
It is difficult to think that pieces of bone (after all, not so hard
material) were used in a mosaic floor. Nor have I heard of such use in
our region (by the way, for the Europeans  Byzantine in the Levant means
4th-7th cent.).
Jidging by parallels from Roman-Byzantine Ceasarea Maritima and other
sites in neighboring Israel, I would suggest these small round pieces
were intended to be inlays in wooden furniture, caskets etc., although
beads cannot be ruled out either (I agree that they are rather too small
to be tockens or gaming pieces). In Caesarea were found flat bones from
which such disks have been drilled off, with diameter of 7 and 10 mm.
See:
Ayalon, E. 2005. The Assemblage of Bone and Ivory Artifacts from
Caesarea Maritima, Israel, 1st-13th Centuries CE (BAR IS 1457). Oxford,
115-116 Nos. 515-516, Fig. 54:515-516.
A similar ivory object 12 mm in diameter was also found. See op. cit.,
p. 123 No. 554, Fig. 58:554.
Similar disks, usually made of shell, were also used in 19th-20th
century inlayed pieces of "Damascene" character in the Levant (see op.
cit., Pl. 9 bottom).
Etan Ayalon
Eretz Israel Museum
Tel Aviv, Israel

  _____  

From: bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu
[mailto:bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu] On Behalf Of
h13017cho at helka.iif.hu
Sent: Friday, December 05, 2008 1:37 AM
To: bonetools at listserv.niif.hu
Subject: [Bonetools] (Fwd) [ZOOARCH] Use animal bones in mosaic works


Dear colleagues,
    This is a posting from the Zooarch mialing list  - I would be
curious to hear from other people who have seen mosaic floors from Late
Antique or Byzantine contexts. I think these objects sound too small to
be gaming piece or tokens. Please respond back to the list so we can all
see your ideas and I will forward the mail to Mohannad as well.

Best,
Alice

Dear all, Hi!
I am working on a worked animal bone assemblage from a Byzantine church
context. Round bone objects could be reconstructed from the bone refuse,
with diameters and heights of  ca 0.5-1 cm.
 
i am wondering please about the possibility of their (round bone
objects)use as mosaic building materials.
 
i'll be most grateful to any note regarding to this subject.
 
With my warmest regards and thanks in advance.

Mohammad Al-Zawahra
Director of Organic dep.
Ministry of tourism & Antiquities
Bethlehem
Palestine

mohammadalzawahra at HOTMAIL.COM
     






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Dr.Alice M.Choyke
Aquincum Museum
H-1131 Budapest
Zahony u. 4
Hungary
Telephone: (36-1 240-4268)
H13017cho at niif.hu

or

Department of Medieval Studies
Central European University
H-1051 Budapest
Nador u. 9.
Hungary
(36-1) 327-3801
choyke at ceu.hu

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