The snake-covered head of Medusa was found on a silver military decoration at a Roman auxiliary fort in England.
A nearly 1,800-year-old silver military medal featuring the snake-covered head of Medusa has been unearthed in what was once the northern edge of the Roman Empire.
The"special find" is a"silver phalera depicting the head of Medusa," according to a Facebook post from The Vindolanda Trust, the organization leading the excavations."The phalera was uncovered from a barrack floor, dating to the Hadrianic period of occupation."Medusa — who is known for having snakes for hair and the ability to turn people into stone with a mere glance — is mentioned in multiple Greek myths.
"From Greek times on, this is a potent apotropaic to ward off bad things, to keep bad things from happening to you," Pollini said. Medusa's serpent-surrounded head is also seen on Roman-era tombs, mosaics in posh villas and battle armor. For instance, in the famous first-century mosaic of Alexander the Great from Pompeii, Alexander is depicted with the face of Medusa on his breastplate, Pollini noted.
Because phalerae were awarded for"valor in battle," military men would attach them to straps and wear them during local parades, Pollini said, noting that the discovery of the Vindolanda phalera is rare.—50 graves of slaves who toiled at a Roman villa unearthed in England"There aren't very many of them, obviously, because they were a precious metal," he said."Eventually, most of them were probably melted down.
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