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HJB Home > Antiquities Home > The Fixed Price List > Roman Nails > Inv. # aq15987

Roman Nails, Group of 3 ca. 1st century AD. Each of these nails is hand made. They were painstakingly produced by the Romans within 45 years of the crucifixion, which most likely occurred in 33 AD. The Romans had a specific way of producing nails. These nails, had they not been discovered in an archeological context could not have been distinguished from the nails used in Judea at that fateful time. These Roman nails were discovered in 1961 by Professor Richmond who was excavating at the site of the fortress known as Inchtuthil. The nails were sent to Julius Agricula by 78 A.D. at the latest to aid him in the Roman war against the Caledonians in Scotland. The Roman general, Julius Agricula, commanded one of only 27 Roman legions, the XX, which later was responsible for building Hadrian’s Wall. The fortress housed 5500 men who were successful in defeating the fierce Caledonians who used immense swords and small shields made of iron as their primary weapons. In 84 A.D., because of jealously by the Roman emperor Domitian and trouble with the German tribes, Agricula was recalled to Rome, the legion dispatched to Germany and the fortress at Inchtuthil was ordered dismantled and moved to Germany. Because of some transport problems 750,000 of the nails had to buried on site to keep them from the Caledonians who valued iron more than silver or gold. The Romans were so successful that the nails remained undetected for 1900 years. The bulk of the nails are in the national museum of Scotland. Those in our possession were sent for analyses and later exported to us from the United Kingdom with an official permit naming these as nails of Inchtuthil. These are the only nails from antiquity that can be exactly dated. L. approximately 1".