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LOT 0679
Roman Military Compass and Tweezers Multi-Tool
CIRCA LATE 2ND-4TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/2 in. (19 grams, 90 mm).
A bronze multi-tool featuring a compass and tweezers, free-moving collar to one arm, one arm with two oval terminals and one tapering to a point.
ProvenanceAcquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
Cf. Beutler, F. et al., Der Adler Roms. Carnuntum und der Armee der Cäsaren, Bad-Deutsch Altenberg, 2017, item 639, for type.
FootnotesThis instrument, a type of circinus formed of two flat-section arms, was widely used by masons and carpenters, as well as for making wall decorations for the preparation of repetitive elements such as spirals or circles. It was widely used by the agrimensores of the army, as is proven by a very similar specimen found in Carnuntum, the camp of the Legio XIIII Gemina.
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AUCTIONS:
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