Overview

• The specimen represents the first trilobite fossil confirmed in a Roman archaeological context and is among only eleven recorded worldwide in any ancient setting.
• Researchers identified the fossil as Colpocoryphe, an Ordovician marine arthropod dating back roughly 450 million years.
• Seven artificially worn facets on the underside of the fossil indicate it was deliberately modified for use as a pendant, bracelet or ritual object.
• Mineralogical and taphonomic markers link the fossil’s reddish iron-oxide mineralization to deposits in the southern Central Iberian Zone, over 430 km from A Cibdá de Armea.
• Its discovery alongside a bronze coin of Emperor Augustus suggests the trilobite held protective or magical significance within Roman cultural and ritual practices.