ROMAN BONE SPOONS FROM OLBIA PONTICA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37445/adiu.2024.02.08Keywords:
Olbia Pontica, roman bone artifacts, roman bone spoons, cochlear, ligulaeAbstract
The bone spoons found in various years in Olbia, both known from publications and kept in various scientific institutions in Ukraine but have not been published yet are discussed in the paper. Based on all these sources in Olbia, at least twenty-two different bone spoons, both intact and fragmented, have been found. Only five have been adequately documented in publications, while I have personally studied another seven artifacts from different years and areas.
All Roman spoons from Olbia can be divided into two groups, based on the volume of the bowl and the shape of the handle: small ones with a pointed handle and large ones with an unpointed handle. The first type includes spoons with a small bowl volume and a thin handle, typically round in cross-section, tapering, and always featuring a pointed edge opposite to the bowl’s edge. In Olbia, two variations of this type are known, distinguished by the shape of the bowl. Presently, there are definitively nine spoons with a round bowl and one with an almond-shaped bowl.
Artifacts of this type, which can be dated based on associated finds, belong to the 1st—2nd centuries AD. In the literature similar objects are commonly associated with the Latin term «cochlear».
The second type comprises spoons with large oval bowls. Another distinction from the previous type is the absence of a pointed handle. Such specimens in the literature are largely associated with the term «ligulae», known from Roman written sources. This type of spoons is less numerous and lacks such standardized variations, especially when it comes to bone artifacts. In Olbia, it is represented by two specimens of different variations, distinguished by the shape of the handle. The first variant features a spoon with a simple handle, round in cross-section, flattened at the junction with the bowl, and its opposite end terminates in a turned ball. The second variant is a spoon with a zoomorphic handle in the form of a marine mammal, likely a dolphin, from the exhibition of the Mykolaiv Regional Museum of Local Lore. Unfortunately, both specimens lack context and are attributed to the Roman period based on close analogies.
Summarizing the research, it can be concluded that the notion of the exclusiveness of finds of Roman bone spoons at ancient sites in the Northern Pontic region is not accurate, at least for Olbia. Thus, despite the geographical distance from the centre of the Roman Empire, Olbia exhibited items characteristic of typical Roman material culture.
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