The Romans left a wealth of artefacts ,from rings, keys, jewellery gaming pieces, pottery etc.. I hope to show a good selection of these over the coming weeks from my collection.
Roman mirrors.
Today when we think of mirrors, we have glass coated with aluminium or silver to give a perfect clear reflection. In ancient Rome they would have been made of bronze, tin or silver, highly polished to reflect light. The hand mirror would have been used by the women to apply make up- khol for the eyes and powder for the skin. Dark eyes and pale skin were considered beautiful.
This amazing example appears to be made of a mix of bronze and a high content of tin. The terminals are formed with stork heads and a gold earring is still attached as it was when found !
This broze mirror would have been highly polished,and at 112mm is exactly the right size for the handle on the left.
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Phallic pendants.
Popular in the 1st century these were worn by the military as amulets or good luck charms to ward of the evil eye ? or maybe a sign of fertility.
Seal boxes and lids
Roman spoons
The Romans generally prepared their food before eating, therefore knives and forks were very rarely used at the table Spoons were the the main utensil they used.The bowls were normally offset and the handles could be decorated.
The example on the right dates from the 1st and 2nd century and was known as a cochlear type and could have been intended for eating eggs and shellfish. |
Roman keys
The hypercaust was the Roman system for under floor heating. The word derives from ancient Greek, hypo, meaning "under", and caust, meaning "burnt" (as in caustic).
Hot air and smoke were passed through ceramic box tiles to heat the rooms,on the right are two pieces of them. Thus the first example of central heating! |