Ceti artigiani e modi di produzione nell'oreficeria protobizantina

The literary and epigraphic sources testify the existence of different categories of artisans occupied in the manufacturing of precious metals. It is important to distinguish their functions, in order to understand the system of production and distribution of jewellery in the context of early Byzantine society. Also the archaeological documentation, with different difficulties, offers the possibility of reconstructing the same process, as the cases of Bir Umm Fawakir, Sardis, Bet She’an and Roma show. The objects offer another source of knowledge, in order to distinguish different ateliers, the system of management, control and fruition of the jewels