Roman Glass Unguentarium 1st – 2nd Century AD

Description

Heading : Roman scented oil bottle
Date : 1st – 2nd Century A.D
Period : Roman Empire
Origin : Throughout the Roman Empire
Colour : Clear
Body : Lacrymiform with a restriction to form the conical neck and a folded rim
Glass Type : ‘Soda-lime’
Size : 9.8cm tall and 4.3cm in diameter
Condition : Excellent. no chips or cracks
Restoration : None
Weight : 25 grams

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.

See M.C Root. Wondrous glass. Reflections on the world of Rome