Lamp
Description
This earthenware lamp was found at the site of the Roman fort at Newstead in Roxburghshire. The bowl of the lamp was filled from the hole at the top with oil, and a wick was inserted through the nozzle. It was used sometime between 80 and 180 AD. The top of the simple, undecorated lamp has a circular depression with defined lip, into which a roughly circular hole has been cut. A groove links the top hole and the nozzle. The Romans used oil lamps, candles and lanterns to provide lighting inside. Most surviving oil lamps are pottery, some with decoration on top. They are not common finds in Britain; perhaps the cost of importing oil was too great. Photo © National Museums Scotland
Object Information
Date Created:
80-180 CE
Local ID:
X.FRA 1110
Collection:
National Museums Scotland
Provenance:
James Curle excavations 1905-1911
Place of Creation/Discovery:
Trimontium
Citation:
Curle, J. A Roman frontier post and its people: the fort of Newstead. Glasgow: MacLehose, 1911, p 306, Pl. LXXIX, 8.
Materials:
Ceramic
Cultural Attribution:
Roman
Period:
1st-2nd century CE
Classification:
Lamp, Cermaic
Rights:
In Copyright- National Museums Scotland