Pottery, vessel, lamp

This is a very rare and unusual Roman pottery lamp, shaped like a foot wearing a sandal. It was made in the Netherlands between 50-60 CE, and was found at Borough High Street in Southwark. Archaeologists discovered the lamp in a rubbish pit, close to buildings that had been burnt down during the Boudican rebellion in 60-61 CE. The lamp is shaped like a right foot wearing a thonged sandal, in a style that was very fashionable in the northern territories of the Roman empire. The sole copies the regular hobnail pattern of an actual sandal. The lamp would have been made using a mould and was hollow, so it could be filled with filled with oil, wax or animal fat. The small hole in the top is an air-hole, and the larger opening, at the big toe, was where the wick was placed - the black staining is burning. These lamps were used both indoors and outside, and their shape allowed them to be easily carried about.