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| Authentic Roman Iron Nail from a Roman Fortress in Inchtuthil, Scotland |
$45.00 |
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Attribution: Inchtuthil group D
Date: 1st Century AD
Size: 3.5 inches
Weight: 12.70 grams
Description: This lot is only one (1) nail, photographed from two perspectives.
Click here to see more information The Roman Fortress of Inchtuthil.
Click here to see an interesting history of the sale of these nails over the years From Ancient Scotland to Online Auctions: A Tale of Roman Nails.
Click here to see the pages from the excellent book INCHTUTHIL, The Roman Legionary Fortress by Lynn F Pitts and JK St Joseph.
This nail comes from the Roman fortress at Inchtuthil, the northernmost Roman fortress in England/Scotland. It was likely commissioned in about AD 82 by Gnaeus Julius Agricola in his fight against the Caledonian tribes. The Caledonians were a confederation of Celtic tribes of modern day Scotland who had red hair and large limbs according to Roman historian Tacitus. When it was excavated in the 1950s by Sir Ian Richmond, a large pit was found in the summer of 1960 containing 875,400 complete hand forged iron nails ranging from 2-16 inches and weighing some 7 tons (Inchuthil Nails by Roddy Fraser). The pit was elaborately concealed, and the nails were almost certainly buried by the troops to prevent their reuse by the local tribes when they dismantled the fortress before they finally left. Many of the nails were sent to museums as a gift and the rest of the hoard was sold to the public and other interested organizations with an offer of 5 shillings for an 8 to 10 inch nail and 25 shillings for a boxed set of 5 nails. Colville's (Iron and Steel refiners) who had been given the task of sorting and storing the nails state quite clearly that all the nails had been "sorted gifted and sold" within 3 years of their discovery. c1963. (Wikipedia, Inchtuthil).
While nails of this size could not have been used in the crucifixion of Jesus under decree of Pontius Pilate, they are of the same time period, type and manufacture as those that would have been used.
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