International congress of byzantine studies belgrade, 22 27 august 2016

partie d’un collier et était portée au niveau de l’estomac.
Les sujets apotropaïques on peut voir sur les accessoires vestimentaires. Ainsi, au Sud-Ouest 
de la Crimée durant le VII
e
siècle étaient populaires les plaque-boucles rigides, dont le plaque 
circulaire est décorée des figures incisées d’un lion et au-dessous, d’un serpent. Dans le champ, 
en haut, figurent une étoile à cinq ou six rayons, et représentation stylisée du mauvais œil. Les 

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plaque-boucles similaires sont connues en Sicile et en Asie Mineure. Cette composition est bien 
connue d’après des amulettes magiques (médaillon et bracelets) provenant de la Syrie, Palestine et 
l’Asie Mineure. Les plaque-boucles de ce type étaient portées par des enfants. 
This research has been financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Humanities, project 
no 15-31-10123 “The Crimean Goths in the Region of Dory (Mid-Third to Seventh Centuries)”.
Ionna Koltsida-Makri
Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Athens, Greece; 
[e-mail]
The Collection of Byzantine Bread Stamps in the Loulis Museum, Piraeus, 
Greece. A First Approach
The paper presents the preliminary results of the study of the collection of Byzantine bread 
stamps in the Loulis Museum in Piraeus. The Museum belongs to the Loulis Mills Corporate, a 
major company in the Greek flour industry, and is housed in the Agiou Georgiou Mills building in 
Keratsini. The Museum aims to preserve the history and the tradition accompanying the preparation 
and use of bread, the basic daily human food in the Mediterranean diet since the Prehistoric times.
The collection consists of 500 bread stamps covering a long period from the 5
th
to the 20
th
century. The majority are of known origin, some being heirlooms and others having been purchased 
from antiquarian shops. The paper focuses on the several stamps of the early and middle Byzantine 
period. They are made of different materials like stone, clay, wood and metal and in various sizes 
and shapes. They present a variety of designs and decorations, such as crosses, representations and 
inscriptions, with the prevailing symbolic invocation of the Eucharistic bread: ΙΗΣΟΥC ΧΡΙΣΤΟC 
ΝΙΚΑ. They offer a valuable piece of information concerning the everyday and religious life during 
the Byzantine era.