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A Roman fibula from a transcontinental port on the fringes of the Empire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2025

Piotr Osypiński Open the ORCID record for Piotr Osypiński [Opens in a new window] ,
Marta Osypińska Open the ORCID record for Marta Osypińska [Opens in a new window] ,
Iwona Zych Open the ORCID record for Iwona Zych [Opens in a new window] ,
Kamila Braulińska Open the ORCID record for Kamila Braulińska [Opens in a new window]  and
Mahmoud Samir Hussein Open the ORCID record for Mahmoud Samir Hussein [Opens in a new window]
Piotr Osypiński*
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warszawa, Poland
Marta Osypińska
Affiliation:
Institute of Archaeology, University of Wrocław, Poland
Iwona Zych
Affiliation:
Independent scholar, Warsaw, Poland
Kamila Braulińska
Affiliation:
Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw, Poland
Mahmoud Samir Hussein
Affiliation:
Hellenic Research Institute of Alexandrian Civilization, Annex in Alexandria, Egypt
*
Author for correspondence: Piotr Osypiński p.osypinski@iaepan.edu.pl
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Abstract

A brooch found in a mid-first-century AD context at the Roman port of Berenike, on the Red Sea coast of Egypt, represents the southernmost find of an Aucissa-type fibula. The item reflects the identity of its wearer, possibly a Roman soldier, for whom it may have held sentimental value.

Keywords

EgyptRed SeaBerenikeRomanAucissa-type broochidentity

Information

Type
Project Gallery
Information
Antiquity , First View , pp. 1 - 5
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

Introduction

Before the advent of absolute dating methods in archaeology, fibulae were intrinsic chronological markers for exploring Roman phases at many sites in Europe (Almgren Reference Almgren1897). As markers of social status, found in both settlement and funerary contexts, these brooches also enable the study of cultural exchanges. To date, few fibulae have been found in early Roman contexts in Egypt, despite the extensive scope of archaeological excavations undertaken. Therefore, the fibula found in Berenike in 2023 merits particular attention, as it supplements evidence of Roman army presence on the Red Sea coast in the early first century AD.

Archaeological background

In the early first century AD, the port of Berenike was an entry point for exotic goods from East Africa, India and Asia, supplying Rome’s social elite with spices, fragrance and a range of other prestigious items (Sidebotham Reference Sidebotham2011). Refuse contexts include luxury items from Italia: tableware, oil lamps, amphorae that once contained wine and oil, and a cast bronze brooch—the first of its kind discovered since the start of modern excavations at Berenike in 1994.

The rubbish deposits illustrate another aspect of the Roman presence in Berenike. Trashed papyri and ostraca (inscribed pottery sherds) from the first and early second centuries AD give insights into activities related to the military (the supply of water and other goods to the city), as do private letters and commercial contracts. Levelling fill includes transport containers for a wide range of imported dry and liquid goods from the first half of the first century AD, as well as luxury items from the heartland of the Empire, the African and Arab provinces and even India.

The fibula

The Berenike fibula (Figures 1 & 2) consists of a bow with a foot and a separately mounted hinge originally retracted into the head. The wide strap-like bow is decorated with longitudinal grooves cut off by two transverse ribs at the head and a single rib at the foot. The foot ends in a fragmentary knob and the original pin is not preserved, but there is evidence of previous repairs or decorative additions to the front of the bow.

Figure 1. Bronze fibula from Berenike (BE24-161/029/044) before conservation (photograph by M. Samir Hussein).

Figure 2. The fibula from Berenike after conservation (figure by K. Braulińska & P. Osypiński).

Discussion

Morphological features of the Berenike fibula indicate it is an example of the Aucissa type (Feugère Reference Feugère1985: type 22b; Berecz Reference Berecz2023: subtype A242.2). Of more than 2100 published brooches of this type (Berecz Reference Berecz2023: tab. 3), most are associated with the Roman military and likely produced in northern Italy (Buora Reference Buora2005). Fibulae of this kind first appeared during the late Republic (around 30/25 BC) and were made through the end of the first century AD, with production peaking in the first half of the century. Given the scale of army demand, these dress accessories may have even been cast in camp by legionary metalworkers. By post-Augustan times (after AD 14), they were equally popular among civilians (Sedlmayer Reference Sedlmayer2014).

Fibulae are commonly found in territories that were the scene of early Roman imperial conquests, chiefly in the reign of Augustus (27 BC–AD 14) (Figure 3). Aucissa-type fibulae have been recorded in large numbers in the Augustan phase of military camps on the Rhenish Limes (Reddé Reference Reddé and Trier1991). British specimens are important for dating inscribed variants because the province was conquered by Emperor Claudius in AD 43. Large numbers of Aucissa-type fibulae have also been found in Spain and Dalmatia. In the African provinces, at least 29 brooches of this type are recorded (Gerharz Reference Gerharz1987). Only one is published from Egypt (Petrie Reference Petrie1927: 23, tab. 18.19), but this is unprovenanced; one from a third–fourth century AD Meroitic burial at Ballaña in Nubia, a bow without the pin, was reused as a metal vessel holder (Firth Reference Firth1927; Gerharz Reference Gerharz1985). The rarity of ‘African’ finds, compared to the abundance of fibulae from the European limes, could reflect differences in climate and associated attire, but brooches could equally have served as a visual marker of identity, brought directly from Europe with the wearer.

Figure 3. Roman Empire in the mid-first century AD, showing the location of finds of Aucissa fibulae (after Gerharz Reference Gerharz1985; Buora Reference Buora2005; Berecz Reference Berecz2023) and the location of the port of Berenike (figure by authors).

In Berenike, the army was responsible for communication between the port and the Nile Valley centres of Coptos and Edfu (Sidebotham et al. Reference Sidebotham, Hense and Nouwens2008; Brun et al. Reference Brun, Faucher, Redon and Sidebotham2018). There is ample written testimony to indicate that both centurions and administrators of the emperors’ personal enterprises resided there, although given the seasonality of monsoons and therefore the navigability of the Red Sea, the size and permanence of the staff are debatable. In the first and second centuries AD, the soldiers of legions famed for their expeditions to Arabia and Nubia were stationed in the provinces of Egypt (Haensch Reference Haensch and Riggs2012). Most centurions were from the heartland of the Empire. This was likely also true at Berenike, and it is possible that one of these men owned the Aucissa-type brooch.

Conclusions

The fibula was apparently repaired before ending up as refuse sometime in the mid-first century AD. As an accessory of military Roman dress, it possibly belonged to a member of the Roman garrison that was stationed in Berenike during the reign of Augustus or Tiberius, when the port city started to play a crucial role in Roman trade with the Far East and India. To date, it is the southernmost find of its type, coming from a stratum indisputably related to the Roman presence. We tentatively suggest that the owner of the fibula could even have been a Roman citizen recruited into legionary service on the far fringes of the Roman Empire. The repairs made to the brooch are a testament to the sentimental value it held for the owner, for whom it may have been a memento of his place of origin or, had he been a soldier, his earlier deployment.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the directors of field activities in Berenike in the 2023/2024 season, Steven Sidebotham and Mariusz Gwiazda. This project works under permits granted by the Egyptian Supreme Council for Antiquities and issued through the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology (PCMA) in Cairo.

Funding statement

Research supported by Polish National Science Centre grant UMO-2021/43/B/HS3/02749.

Author contributions: using CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) categories

Piotr Osypiński: Conceptualization-Lead, Formal analysis-Lead, Investigation-Lead, Writing - original draft-Equal. Marta Osypińska: Funding acquisition-Lead, Writing - original draft-Equal. Iwona Zych: Data curation-Lead, Project administration-Lead, Writing - original draft-Equal. Kamila Braulinska: Visualization-Equal, Writing - original draft-Supporting. Mahmoud Samir Hussein: Investigation-Equal, Visualization-Equal, Writing - original draft-Supporting.

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Figure 0

Figure 1. Bronze fibula from Berenike (BE24-161/029/044) before conservation (photograph by M. Samir Hussein).

Figure 1

Figure 2. The fibula from Berenike after conservation (figure by K. Braulińska & P. Osypiński).

Figure 2

Figure 3. Roman Empire in the mid-first century AD, showing the location of finds of Aucissa fibulae (after Gerharz 1985; Buora 2005; Berecz 2023) and the location of the port of Berenike (figure by authors).