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Roman lead lamp holder
Thick lead disc with a raised rim with a lip at one side. Upstanding block projects from the ring at one point. More complete examples are known from Pen Llystyn (Hogg 1969, Fig 15, L1 and L2) and Caerleon (Nash-Williams 1929, Fig 17 No 10: AD 70-110); Nash Williams 1932, Fig 39, Nos 4-6). Two come from contexts dated AD 75-105 whilst a third is dated AD 105-200. Condition: other edge of disc damaged, possibly by ploughing.
Collection Area
Archaeology & Numismatics
Item Number
82.22H/4.1
Find Information
Site Name: Segontium, Caernarfon
Grid Reference: SH 485 624
Collection Method: excavation
Date: 1979
Notes: Context, Code: 2369, Feature type: burnt clay/disturbed layer, Date of context: phase 4 Flavian/Trajanic
Acquisition
Donation, 31/3/1982
Measurements
diameter / mm:105
Material
lead
Location
In store
Comments - (2)
Dear David,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment on Collections Online. I would entirely agree that the best current evidence suggest that such objects were in fact lamps rather than lamp holders.
I hope you can appreciate that Collections Online is the public facing version of the Museum’s collections database, which for Archaeology alone has approaching half a million records, so there are inevitably many records that could benefit from enhancing and updating.
Yours,
Evan
(Senior Curator: Archaeology & Numismatics)
Please see: D.M. Bailey, A Catalogue of Lamps in the British Museum, Vol. IV, 1996, pp.55-6.
Eckardt, TRAC 2000, pp.8-21.
Croom, Running the Roman Home, 2011, pp.82-3.