Roman oil lamp

myminifactory

Artificial lighting was widely used in ancient Rome. Candles made from beeswax or tallow were a cheap and readily available source of light, but few candles have survived to the present day due to their fragile nature. In contrast, lamps fueled with olive oil and other plant-based oils are abundant and have been studied extensively. Some Roman lamps feature intricate designs and statuettes, while others are made from fired clay and have a simple single nozzle for one wick. The majority of small clay lamps were mass-produced in workshops using molds, resulting in standardized products with minimal variation. Many of these clay lamps featured a central discus, a circular area around 4-6 cm in diameter that housed the filling hole and could be decorated with low-relief images of mythological scenes, everyday life, animals, hunting, gladiatorial combat, chariot racing, erotic encounters, and later Christian symbolism.