Ancient or Early Medieval Lead Ornament, #5 - c. 800 BCE to 1000 CE - Central/Eastern Europe - 3/8/23 Auction

Quick info: Period: Ancient to early medieval (circa 8th century BCE to 10th century CE) Material: Lead alloy Origin: Central or Eastern Europe, possibly Roman or Byzantine Size (length): 33mm This piece of ancient lead ornamentation was recovered in central or eastern Europe and was part of a collection of small metal artifacts formerly acquired by a New York City based gallery in the 2000's. It dates back to approximately 800 BCE to 1000 CE, though exact dating is difficult—unlike coins, which typically show an emperor or other clue, jewelry and other ornamentation rarely has any descriptive markings.Artifacts such as these are often attributed to the Romans, but in reality it is hard to say which culture produced a piece like this without further information. A large wealth of various bronze items were produced by the Roman and later Byzantine empires, and there is a strong chance that this artifact is among them—however, it is impossible to know for sure as it could also predat