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Amgueddfa Cymru – Museum Wales
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Roman pottery amphora
This amphora has a slender spindle-shaped body, with handles made of a single rod of clay, oval in cross section. Probably AD 350-400. It is made of a hard reddish buff fabric with a creamish outer surface. There are numerous inclusions of roundish limestone up to 3mm across.
Source: Peacock. D.P.S. & Williams, D.F. 1986. Amphorae and the Roman Economy; an introductory guide.
Amphorae were used in vast numbers for the transport of various products, both liquid and dry, but mostly for wine. When being transported by ship, the pointed base allowed the amphora to be slotted into a rack, with ropes passing through the handles to prevent their movement during rough seas.
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Site Name: Broadway, Caerleon
Notes: found in a well in a field to the left of Broadway