The unique group of Late Antique stone amulets were made of soft rather than precious stones, and their decoration was incised with a sharp instrument rather than engraved with a drill. Their production required neither the skills nor the tools of a professional engraver; the general expertise of a ritual specialist would have sufficed. Technically, they may be regarded as simplified versions of magical gems. Most of their iconographic motifs derive from the Biblical tradition. Their manufacture belongs to the Late Antique period, although the number of securely dated examples is very small. They were primarily used in the eastern part of the Roman Empire.

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