Byzantine disk brooch from a Visigothic grave
Date:
End of the sixth century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Spain
Medium:
Gold
Dimensions:
5 cm in diameter
Description:
This circular gold brooch, formed from two embossed sheets joined at the edges, features the Adoration of the Magi and a Greek inscription: ☩ΑΓΙΑ ΜΑΡΙΑ ΒΟΗΘΙ ΤΗ ΦΩΡΟΥϹΑΙ ☩ΑΜΗΝ☩ (Holy Mary, protect the wearer. Amen), with the wearer gendered feminine (i.e., "the woman wearing this"). It was discovered in the grave of a high-status Visigothic woman at the archeological site of El Turuñuelo (near Medellín, Spain). The grave goods also included a ring, earrings, gold threads and plaques from a luxury textile, and the gold rim of a purse. It is impossible to know if the brooch arrived in the Iberian Peninsula through trade or if the deceased herself traveled eastward, possibly as part of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. In either case, it attests to connections between the Iberian Peninsula and the Byzantine Empire around the end of the sixth century.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
3
Repository and Online Resources:
• The brooch is now in Madrid's Museo Arqueológico Nacional.
• See the object in higher resolution.
• See a similar medallion in the British Museum.
Image Credits:
Ángel M. Felicísimo
