Chester Amphitheatre Project Blog

This intaglio or gem, found whilst we were wet-sieving the fills from the Roman cesspit, measures just 10 mm by 8 mm and shows the mask of a young satyr, a Greek god of the woodlands. It has been carved into a piece of chalcedony which is a type of quartz.



Gems such as this were set into rings worn by both men and women. As well as being decorative they were used to make an impression in wax to secure correspondence and items of value, as a way of representing a personal signature.