Fragment from the Frieze of the Cupids showing cupids working as goldsmiths, House of the Vettii, Pompeii, 1st century CE

Ancient Romans of all classes, men and women, owned jewelry. However, archaeologists have very little evidence about how and why jewelry was worn in everyday life in ancient Rome. Most of the ancient jewelry that survives today was found in disorganized excavations during the early age of archaeology, looted by treasure hunters or grave robbers, or purchased on the black market. As a result, ancient jewelry is often separated from important information about the original context in which it was made and worn.

View of the excavations at Pompeii in May 1873

A rare exception is the Roman jewelry found in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the surrounding villas buried in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. A wide array of gold and silver necklaces, rings, bracelets, and earrings were recovered, with precious and semi-precious stones such as pearls, emeralds, and carnelian. Jewelry was found on skeletons, in cloth bags, and in wooden boxes that were carried, buried, or left behind in houses.

Jewelry discovered in a bag carried by a woman who perished in the town of Oplontis near Pompeii, 79 CE (Soprintendenza Speciale per i Beni Archeologici di Napoli e Pompei)

Given the chaos of the eruption and the evacuation, and among the skeletons found huddled in groups, it is often impossible to precisely determine which jewelry belonged to which person. Therefore, it is difficult to determine what any specific piece of jewelry may indicate about the wealth, status, or identity of the people who wore it.

Lump of coins with jewels enclosed – jasper, bronze, gold, pearls, emerald, Roman, Herculaneum, 1st century CE

However, the Vesuvian jewelry does provide an indication of the types of jewelry that were produced, purchased, and worn at that time. Based on the multiple examples that were found, archaeologists can determine some of the styles that were common in the first century CE.

For example, several gold woven loop-in-loop chains were found, some long enough to be worn as body chains around the torso. In addition, multiple chains in the figure-of-eight style were excavated from Pompeii, typically worn as short choker-length necklaces. These were often found with crescent-shaped lunula pendants worn as amulets, as well as clasps in the shape of wheels or discs. 

Gold catena loop-in-loop chain, Roman, Pompeii, 1st century CE (Parco Archeologico di Pompei)

Gold necklace with crescent (lunula) pendant, Oplontis B, 79 CE (Regents of the University of Michigan)

Another common style is a bracelet made of hemispherical half-domes attached by chain links that act as hinges. Several examples of this bracelet were found—some made of solid gold, others gilded with gold leaf.

Gold bracelets in the form of inter-linking double hemispheres, Roman, Pompeii, 1st century CE (Parco Archeologico di Pompei)

Gold serpent or snake bracelets were also found in quantity. Some of these bracelets are molded from solid gold, others are hollow, and still others are fashioned from thin sheet gold. Research has theorized that the solid gold variety of snake bracelets were used to mass gold as a repository of wealth, a practice that continued from the Greek Hellenistic tradition and very likely earlier.

Gold bracelet in the form of a coiled snake, Roman, Pompeii, 1st century CE  (British Museum)

Why did some Roman women own solid gold jewelry and others hollow or gilded versions? Could this indicate differences in wealth and the ability to afford gold? Or perhaps a woman owned both versions, with one used for everyday wear and the other kept as an heirloom, part of a dowry, or an investment piece.

These examples illustrate the difficulty of drawing conclusions about the life of everyday people from ancient jewelry, even when the provenance is known. Ancient jewelry played many roles in ancient society—adornment, investment, status symbol, heirloom, amulet. Even today, a piece of jewelry can carry multiple meanings about the person who wears it and the context in which they wear it.