Fossil Mahoumacrinus Crinoid Plate

Cut and polished section, mined in Greece, cut and polished on one side, probably recycled material mined in ancient Roman times; mounted on a custom-made metal display stand. 9.82 kg total, 44 cm including stand



Acquired on the UK art market since the 1990s. From the private collection of a Somerset gentleman.

Also known as Lapis Lacedaemonius and Porfido Verde Antico, a type of green porphyry quarried in Greece. Spartan basalt is a form of andesite or volcanic rock known today only from a single source in the village of Krokees on the Peloponnese in Greece. In addition, ancient sources mention a quarry of Lapis Lacedaemonius in Taygetus.

A Carcharocles megalodon shark tooth, with serrations and polished tooth enamel. 155 grams, 10.2 cm



From a Cambridgeshire, UK, collection.

Carcharodon megalodon is regarded as one of the largest and most powerful marine predators in vertebrate history and likely had a profound impact on the structuring of the marine communities. Fossil remains indicate that this giant shark reached a length of more than 16 metres (52 ft) and also affirm that it had a cosmopolitan distribution. Scientists suggest that in life it looked like a stockier version of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias.

Comprising two triangular pieces, cut and polished on several sides, probably recycled material mined in ancient Roman times between the 1st and 5th centuries A.D. 195 grams total, 56-58 mm



Ex Mineral Imports, London, UK. Gregory, Bottley & Lloyd (Gregory's), Harwich, UK.

Mons Porphyrites (today Jabal Abu Dukhkhan) is the mountainous site of a group of ancient quarries in the Red Sea Hills of the inhospitable eastern desert in Egypt, a five-day trip from the Nile during Roman times. They were discovered by Caius Cominus Leugas in 18 A.D., and during the Roman Empire, the mines officially belonged to the emperor and were the only known source of the Imperial Porphyry, Mons Porphyrites. This dark purple stone was associated with royalty and used for prestigious sculpture and architecture. The location of the mines was lost sometime in the 5th century and rediscovered in the early 19th century. Excavations in the area have revealed the well-preserved quarries and the dwelling places of the quarrymen, and also thousands of ostraca have been discovered containing messages that provide details of how the quarrying took place, and of how the highly skilled quarrymen ordered their food.