St. John the Baptist
Name: St. John the Baptist
Provenance: Igreja da Misericórdia (“Church of Mercy”) at Mértola
Location: Museum of Sacred Art
Single gold earring
Name: Single gold earring
Provenance: Grave No. 163 (next to the third vertebra) – Paleo-christian basilica
Location: Museum of Mértola. Paleo-christian basilica
Description: A single gold earring with thin overlapping extremities, increasingly thick towards the centre, and with a circular cross section. The fastening mechanism consists of joining both extremities.
Dimensions: Diameter: 11mm, thickness 2mm
Jar with plant-form motifs in full “dry string” technique
Name: Jar with plant-form motifs in full “dry string” technique
Provenance: Citadel of Mértola. Crypto-porticus
Location: Museum of Mértola. Museum of Islamic Art
Pottery skillet
Name: Pottery skillet
Provenance: The hillside of the Castle of Mértola
Location: Museum of Mértola. Museum of Islamic Art
Description: Open container with everted rim and a very small spout to pour its contents. It has a curved cylindrical body with two horizontal handles pasted on the sides, and a convex base. It features a thick honey-colour glaze.
Dimensions: Height 82mm, width 235mm
Bronze buckle
Name: Bronze buckle
Provenance: Paleo-christian basilica
Location: Museum of Mértola. Paleo-christian basilica
Description: A bronze buckle with a hard, lyre-shaped plate. It is incomplete, lacking the frame and prong. An animal-form motif fills the central part, which is lined by small grooves carved with a file.
Dimensions: Length 4.2 cm, width 2.1 cm; thickness 0.9 cm
Chronology: 7th century
Bowl representing a bird in full “dry string” technique
Name: Bowl representing a bird in full “dry string” technique
Provenance: Citadel of Mértola. Crypto-porticus.
Location: Museum of Mértola. Museum of Islamic Art
Cooking pot
Name: Cooking pot
Provenance: Citadel of Mértola
Location: Museum of Mértola
Description: A cooking pot with inverted rim, grooved globular body and convex base with two vertical handles of oval cross section with a central ridge. The pot is fully covered with a honey-coloured lead glaze.
Chronology: Second half of the 12th century. Early 13th century.
Dimensions: 7.3 x 11 cm
Oil lamp
Name: Oil lamp
Provenance: Citadel of Mértola
Location: Islamic Museum of Mértola
Chronology: Late 12th century / first quarter of the 13th century
Description: A bronze oil lamp consisting of a globular chamber leading to a frustoconical nozzle. The lamp has a semi-circular handle, with a stylised lotus flower ornament, leading from the rim to the flat circular base.
Dimensions: Height 55mm; length 115mm; width 40mm
Hilarinus epitath
Name: Hilarinus epitaph
Transcript:
HILARINUS
FAM(U)L(US) DEI
VIXIT AN (NO)
UNO M(ENSIBUS) V
Distaff
Name: Distaff
Provenance: Citadel of Mértola
Location: Islamic Museum of Mértola.
Chronology: 11th century / first half of the 12th century.