Accession No.:
2011.3803
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Description
Circular patterned oil lamp, pale terracotta colour with circular patterns all over. Design depicting two figures on top with circular surround pattern.Inscription
N/ANotes
Alan ColeThe lamp would be filled with olive oil poured through the central hole, and then a wick placed in the spout would be lit. This was a standard source of lighting in the Roman world, but one that could also be used for warming styli to erase writing on wax tablets. The flat end of the stylus would be held about 25mm from the end in the top of the flame.* When the heat reached the fingers of the scribe, the stylus would have been at the correct temperature for the flat end to smooth over markings in the wax without scorching, thus either erasing individual errors or wiping the entire tablet clean.
*This was calculated by me after many failed experiments with original styli.
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