From Newstead, Roxburghshire
This iron hanging lamp was found during excavations at the site of the Roman fort at Newstead in Roxburghshire. It was filled with oil on which a wick floated. The lamp was used sometime between 80 and 180 AD.
Iron hanging lamp from Newstead
The Romans used oil lamps, candles and lanterns to provide lighting inside. Most surviving oil lamps are pottery, although metal examples are also known. Some metal lamps, like this one, were made to be suspended.
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