This is the companion volume to one devoted to recent research on Byzantine jewellery published in 2010 and forms part of a series organised under the auspices of the British Museum Byzantine Seminar Series. The conference brought together leading scholars from Europe, the USA and the Middle East to discuss Late Antique gems and cameos. This is the first time that so many diverse papers, interdisciplinary in nature, have been assembled in a single volume and includes scientific papers addressing issues such as typology and sourcing of gemstones.