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Steatite amulet of St Menas: E.2.1924

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An image of Relief
Current Location: Gallery 19

Titles

Steatite amulet of St Menas

Entities

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Description

Roughly rectangular stone amulet with a carved figure the full length of the front.
2 holes in top that connect to 2 holes in the back.
Proper right side: half size carved figure and the upper part of a second figure.
Proper left side: half size carved figure near the top. Under this it appears that the head of a second figure was scratched into the surface but it was never carved. This may be because the stone surface on the lower PL edge flaked away.
Incised ?Greek text on back and top.

Plaque, front with St.Menas, sides with saints, back inscribed. St. Menas was an Egyptian-born martyr. He served in the Roman army but left following an edict of the emperor Diocletian against the practice of Christianity. Following a declaration of his faith, Menas was tortured and beheaded in AD 295. He was a patron saint of travellers and was thus llinked to St. Christopher.

Measurements and weight

Depth: 1.5 cm
Length: 5.8 cm
Width: 3.2 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1924) by Rogers, G. F., Dr

Dating

Coptic-Byzantine
500 CE - 600 CE

Materials used in production

mineral Steatite

Techniques used in production

Carved

Identification numbers

Accession number: E.2.1924
Primary reference Number: 52307
Oldadmincategory: SS

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Friday 18 July 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Antiquities

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Steatite amulet of St Menas" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/52307 Accessed: 2025-12-05 14:53:06

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/52307 |title=Steatite amulet of St Menas |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 14:53:06|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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