Roman bronze miniature ship's prow found in Austria

"Bronze objects were usually melted down for later reuse, so it is rare for one of this size to survive. It is the largest bronze artifact from Roman Salzburg found since 1943. The object was unearthed last year during excavations of the Neue Residenz in the historic site, the site of the new Salzburg branch of the Vienna Belvedere Museum."

"Because the object was deformed and broken, it was initially suspected that it might be an oil lamp shaped like an ancient ship's prow. The object was exposed under a microscope using a scalpel and ultrasonic fine chisel. The unstable bronze material was then strengthened with specially adapted acrylic resins. The surface was also given a protective coating of microcrystalline wax. In the museum's archaeological workshop, a reshaping and reconstruction of the spectacular object was then carried out based on the plastic copies, explained Maximilian Bertet, the museum's archaeological conservator."

"It was therefore clear to me that this was not an oil lamp, but a decorative piece. The object represented the prow of a Roman warship, complete with its ram. It was discovered that the ship's prow, cast in bronze, was originally attached to a wall or door with an iron spike. The spike was anchored in the hollow prow with a complex overlay cast. A decorative disc was also fixed between the wall and the prow."

A bronze miniature ship's prow with a ram was uncovered in Salzburg's old town during excavations of the Neue Residenz. The fragment dates to the 2nd or 3rd century A.D. and comes from a Roman urban villa. The prow was found beneath rubble from a collapsed wall and represents the largest bronze artifact from Roman Salzburg since 1943. Bronze objects were usually melted for reuse, making survival of this piece rare. The prow was originally mounted on a wall or door via an iron spike and decorative disc. Conservation involved microscopic cleaning, stabilization with acrylic resins, protective microcrystalline wax, and reshaping based on plastic copies.

Read at www.thehistoryblog.com