Hi, all. Here is a neat little piece of a
Herodian type oil lamp from
Caesarea Maritima. I like it because you can see the inside of the nozzle and how it was attached to the wheel made body in a separate operation, as opposed to the later mould made
lamps that were manufactured in one step. I think it may be the "Jerusalem" sub
type, which is characterized by the black color of the clay, resulting from firing in a low oxygen kiln. I realize the clay is only light charcoal grey, but I think this may be the result of
weathering from exposure on the sand dunes. The more protected areas of the interior seem to be a little darker, but please correct me if I am wrong. As always, any
additions or corrections to my description would be appreciated. Thanks, V-drome
BCC CG18
Herodian Oil Lamp Nozzle
Caesarea Maritima
Late 1st Century BCE-Middle 1st Century CE
Fragment of a "Jerusalem"
Type Herodian oil lamp consisting
of a
complete nozzle attached to a remnant of the body. (
Adler type JERU.1).
This
lamp had a rounded wheel-made body and a nozzle that was made separately,
joined to the body, and then smoothed with a blade, giving it a splayed shape and
concave sides. Decoration is sparse, consisting of small incised circles on either
side of the wick hole, a horizontal hashed line across the middle, and two more circles along
the base of the nozzle. The fine-grained clay has a light charcoal grey appearance from
firing in a low oxygen environment. This piece, though only a fragment, is interesting
in that it clearly shows the internal connection of the two parts that would otherwise be
very difficult to observe.
Dimensions: L3.8 x W4.6 x TH2.7cm.
Weight: 13.84gm.
Surface find
Caesarea Maritima, 1974
(click for larger pic)