Large Roman Glass Unguentarium 200-400 AD

Description

Heading : Roman scented oil bottle
Date : 2nd – 4th Century A.D
Period : Roman Empire
Origin : Throughout the Roman Empire
Colour : Clear
Body : Droplet shaped with a restriction to form the conical neck
Glass Type : ‘Soda-lime’
Size : 6 1/2 inches tall and 2 3/4 inches in diameter
Condition : Excellent. no chips or cracks
Restoration : None
Weight : 38 gram

The Romans were far more attentive to matters of personal hygiene than most Britons were 1800 years later. This bottle may have been used for unguents as the name suggests. scented oils to cleanse wounds or simply to perfume ones environs. Precious scented oils were deemed to be essentials that one would need on the journey to chthonic pleasures in the after life. This explains the encrustation. it has been below ground level for some considerable time.