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Details
LOT 0673
Late Roman Iron Branding Signaculum
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
11 1/4 in. (396 grams, 28.5 cm).
Featuring an elaborate monogram composed of Greek letters A and E, rectangular section bar and tapering cylindrical socket.
Provenance
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
Literature
See Baratta, G., 'Roman Signacula / Una particolare categoria di signacula: marchi per legno, pellame ed animali', in Mayer, M., Olive, G., Baratta, G., Guzman Almagro, A. (ed.), XII Congressus Internationalis Epigraphiae Grecae et Latinae, Barcelona, 2007, pp.99-108, figs.3, 7, for similar stamps
Footnotes
Branding stamps or signacula, in particular those with large single letters, were used for marking livestock to identify the ownership, the breed, the quality and other features of the animal. These signacula were usually made in bronze, but iron examples are also preserved.
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