NOTE DE ARHEOLOGIE CREŞTINĂ 9. GEME CREŞTINE LA CARNUNTUM (PETRONEL, AUSTRIA)
NOTES ON CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY 9. CHRISTIAN GEMSTONES DISCOVERED IN CARNUNTUM (PETRONEL, AUSTRIA)

Summary/Abstract: In a collection of gems discovered at Carnuntum (Pannonia Superior) and recently published by G. Dembski under the title “Gemmen und Kameen von Carnuntum” (Wien 2005), the author (G. Dembski) has identified three (sure) Christian gems (nr. 626 – 628). (Fig. 1) He supposes that there are several others but he doubts their Christian character for the time being. N. Gudea has identified 28 Christian gems in this collection. Starting from the basic studies of Christian gems (Leclercq 1924; Leclercq 1924; Kirsch 1924) and those of Gnostic Christian gems (Marques – Rivière 1950; Doresse 1969) N. Gudea demonstrates step by step that gems representing dolphins, dolphins stabbed by a trident (Fig. 2), fish, pairs of fishes, fishes associated with an anchor, anchors having an inscription on them (Fig. 3), chrismon (Fig. 3) the gnostic divinity Abrasax (Fig. 4) are Christian gems belonging to the early period of Christianity. All these, together with earlier discoveries (Gudea – Chiu 1995, p. 33 – 34), prove that in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD in Carnuntum (Pannonia Superior) a rather powerful Christian community existed. Some older indications, and also some more recent ones (the vessel with chrismon, gems with chrismon etc), suggest that even through the artefacts one can demonstrate that Christian community reached viability in the 4th century (cf. Ubl 1982, p. 302 – 303; Harreither – Pillinger 1999, p. 28).

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