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 From marko1  

6th July 06

Just bought this amulet. 

Vendor suggests Theoris. 

I think it looks most like a Womble !

Perhaps Reshep ?

22nd August 06

This posting was a few months ago;I have moved it to here.

I am trying to find out about this lead plaque.

Said to have been found in Egypt in 1948 but this information cannot be taken as 100% reliable.

Quite solid and heavy. 27mmx 30mm. The writing appears to be (almost) Coptic, so I suppose that would make it Egyptian post c.300BC

Any ideas?

David McD has kindly drawn my attention to this other example.

In a Bulgarian collection and said to have been found in that country.

That actually makes sense to me in terms of the unsupported find provenence with mine; I think there has  been a mistake. It was not found in Egypt. Perhaps something else, some other example of ancient writing in this group of small antiquities, some of which I saw was found there, but it fits together: most of the other pieces were ex Balkans, and I suspect very strongly that so was this lead plaque.

• Note the texts are the same but the last line on side A on the other is transposed to side B on my example.
• If entirely fake, why would the non text be so carefully copied?
• I suspect these are magical and are pseudo-texts. 

  Plinius asks

26th August 06

I have this item; duck shaped. I dont know what it is.Can someone help me in identifying it? The seller only said that it was 3rd century.

Rialtos wonders if it's a weight.

How much does it weigh?

  Plinius says

The weight of the artifact is 26,5 gr.
If it is a weight, could be the weight for a scale?

Interestingly, another similar shaped object though more obviously duck shaped.........

Linlin says

29th August 06

I have purchased on eBay a very similar object : same patina, no eyes, same neck, same line at the beginning of the beak and a crest on the beak. The dimensions from the end of the beak to the top of the head is 2,5 cm. The seller said that was from La Tène, Celtic culture, 3rd century BC.

  Plinius has this

10th October 06

60mm

An animal for  sacred purposes (Lararium or something similar),  I don't know anynthing about its provenience, but I guess Northern Italy, Pianura Padana.

Interesting as it is not very Roman in style.

An attractive little thing.

Maybe someone will comment?