Oil Lamps
Lamps for Light and Offerings
The Romans used oil lamps for lighting their homes, and streets, and for offerings in temples and tombs. The earliest lamps, during the bronze age, were in the form of a saucer with a floating wick. Over time, lamps evolved, and further enclosure of the lamp body by Roman crafters allowed for more decoration on the discus. They also developed a channel on the nozzle to draw back any oil that dripped from the wick. Between the first and second centuries AD, Italian lamps became the dominant style in the Roman world.
Clay lamps were manufactured using many methods. They could be hand-molded, wheel thrown, or impressed into a mold. Some show signs of being made using a combination of these methods. Besides the vessel itself, oil lamps also required fuel as well as a wick. Types of fuel ranged from animal fat to bees’ wax to various plant-based oils including olive oil, sesame oil, and grape-seed oil. Olive oil is believed to have been the primary source of fuel used in the Mediterranean. Wicks were any kind of fibrous material, typically linen, papyrus, or other plant fibers. Some oil lamps from the Mediterranean depict iconographic imagery that covers a wide range of topics such as religion, nature, sports, entertainment, and erotica.
