18 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

World treasure that cannot be displayed in the Local Museum in Pljevlja, Montenegro

Despite representing one of the most valuable portable cultural assets of Montenegro, the Pljevlja Diatreta is not accessible to visitors. The Local Museum in Pljevlja lacks the necessary special security measures and additional physical protection conditions to exhibit this world treasure.

This artifact, of inestimable value, is rarely even seen by the employees of that institution, which was founded by the Municipality of Pljevlja.

The Director of the Local Museum, Dejana Drobnjak, says that the current space in the Cultural Center in Pljevlja is not adequate to permanently display this valuable exhibit.

She says that it would only be possible with the Local Museum having its own building where the physical and technical protection arrangements could be implemented.

“For the display of exhibits of particular importance, such as the Pljeval diatretum, which represents the pinnacle of the glassmaking art of ancient Rome, special safety pedestals and additional physical protection conditions should be provided,” said Director Drobnjak.

Director Drobnjak also stated that the museum’s security and technical protection will be done out in accordance with the laws and regulations governing this area until the end of the year.

She says that diatretum is currently stored under special conditions.

Pljevlja Diatreta. Photo: Heritage Museum Pljevlja

The cage cup or Diatretum

The Pljevlja cage cup (also called vas diatretum, plural diatreta, or reticulated cup) was found in 1975 at Komini/Komine near the city of Pljevlja in Montenegro. A cage cup is a type of luxury late Roman glass vessel. The cup is also a very rare example of a complete Roman cage cup or diatretum.

The Pljevlja cage cup originates from the 4th century AD. It has a clear body and blue cage, and the inscription VIVAS PAN[H]ELLENI BONA M[emoria] (“Live, Panhellenius, in good [memory]”) is found around the rim. It is in the Heritage Museum Pljevlja.

The height of the diatretum is 14.9 cm, the diameter of the opening is 13.3 cm and the base is 3.7 cm. It was made in one of the famous Cologne workshops.

It is characteristic of the stage of the late Roman Empire and is a reflection of the peak of the development of glassmaking skills in antiquity, when the decoration rises from the surface and encompasses the entire vessel, like a mesh basket.

Detail.

Diatretum was used on festive occasions. She was like the queen of the evening at the table of a powerful lord or the emperor himself, made to show beauty, to testify to opulence. Apart from its primary, practical purpose, this expensive goblet was also a reflection of belonging to a certain class. Its aesthetic dimension is also very important because it reflects the lifestyle, taste, and fashion of an era. And then, after many feasts at which it was presented, the diatretum was buried together with its owner.

About fifty cups or, more often, fragments have survived, and there are only a few in near-complete condition. Pljevlja diatretum is one of these unique near-complete cups. Most have a cage with circular geometrical patterns, often with an “inscription”, or phrase in letters above the reticulated area as well. Some have a flange, or zone of projecting open-cut molding, above the lower patterns and below the lettering.

Pljevlja cage cup has never been restored and has its original, nearly two-millennium-old paint.

Cover Photo: The site where diatreta was found in 1975. Photo: Goran Malidžan

The Vijesti news was translated using Google Translate.

Related Articles

Croatian Team Finds a Way to Effectively and Permanently Preserve Stuka Aircraft Wreck Under the Sea

11 December 2024

11 December 2024

 The ICUA Zadar team of conservators and archaeologists carried out in situ underwater conservation of the wreckage of the Junkers...

Salvage Excavations Started in Giresun Island on Turkey’s Black Sea Coast

18 May 2021

18 May 2021

Rescue excavations are starting again on Giresun Island, where the first examples of human settlement in the Black Sea Region...

Lost Pirate Ship Possibly Identified Off Madagascar: Archaeologists Believe They’ve Found the Legendary Nossa Senhora do Cabo

9 July 2025

9 July 2025

Shipwreck site near Île Sainte-Marie matches historical records of pirate Olivier Levasseur’s treasure-laden vessel, say researchers After more than fifteen...

Amateur makes ‘Gold Find of the Century’ in Norway

7 September 2023

7 September 2023

A Norwegian 51-year-old Erlend Bore out walking on doctors’ advice unearthed rare 6th-century gold jewellery using a newly bought metal...

An extremely Rare Half-Shekel Coin From Year Three of the Great Revolt discovered

21 December 2022

21 December 2022

Recent excavations by archaeologists from the Hebrew University in the Ophel area south of the Temple Mount uncovered the remains...

A 4000-Year-Old Seal Found in the prehistoric coastal site of Kalba on the Gulf of Oman

5 April 2024

5 April 2024

Archaeologists discovered a Gulf-type seal made of soft stone dating to the end of the third millennium BC at Kalba,...

An extraordinary medieval belt loop found near Kamień Pomorski in Poland

18 March 2024

18 March 2024

A late medieval belt loop for hanging keys or a bag was found near the town of Kamień Pomorski in...

Remains of first Islamic madrassa found in Turkey’s Harran

1 December 2021

1 December 2021

The remnants of a 12th-century madrassa (Islamic institution of higher instruction) have been discovered in the archaeological site of Harran,...

Was Stavanger Cathedral Built on a Viking Settlement?

4 June 2021

4 June 2021

Archaeologists have discovered animal bones and habitation evidence underneath the northern part of Stavanger cathedral that they believe date from...

Romanian Police Find the Stolen Viking Helmet

21 February 2021

21 February 2021

Romanian police specializing in heritage crimes recovered a medieval helmet of “Viking origin” on February 7, which had disappeared a...

Ancient ‘Cancer-Treating’ Magical Amulet Discovered in Türkiye’s Antioch of Pisidia

30 December 2024

30 December 2024

An intriguing artifact was discovered during excavations in the ancient city of Pisidia Antioch in Isparta province in western Türkiye:...

Ancient city “Germanicia” lost in 73 years

8 July 2021

8 July 2021

The presence of the ancient city of Germanicia, discovered during an illegal excavation in the southeast Turkish province of Kahramanmaraş...

1,400-year-old coins found in a piggy bank in ancient city of Hadrianopolis

3 January 2024

3 January 2024

Archaeologists unearthed a collection of 10 coins believed to date back nearly 1,400 years, retrieved from what appears to be...

Secrets of the Skull Room: 12 Ancient Human Skulls Unearthed in Sefertepe Excavations

16 September 2025

16 September 2025

Archaeologists have uncovered 12 new human skulls during ongoing excavations at Sefertepe, one of the most important sites of the...

The New Study Says the Iranian Plateau in the Pleistocene is a Bridge Between East and West

19 May 2021

19 May 2021

Iranian researchers say the Iranian plateau served as a migration route between East and West during the Pleistocene period, which...