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Lamps

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from Taymouth Castle, Kenmore, Perthshire; Needless, Perthshire; and probably Aberdeenshire

Lamps
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These three steatite lamps were found at Taymouth Castle at Kenmore in Perthshire, at Needless in Perthshire and probably in Aberdeenshire. They date from between 200 BC and 400 AD. The lamps would have been filled with oil on which a wick floated.

All three lamps have handles, perforated on the top two examples. The lamp on the left has also been decorated with a herringbone pattern. The bottom lamp is unfinished. The hollowing was possibly just started when the handle broke.

Early lamps were generally carved from stone. Steatite was an ideal material. It was easy to carve, and did not crack with heat. But steatite only outcrops in a few places in Scotland, and these lamps or their raw material had probably been imported to the sites.

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