Fragments of a drinking cup

These pottery sherds from a Roman drinking cup were found at a native broch settlement at Keiss in Caithness. It was a valuable Roman object, probably passed from one native chief to another, ending up miles from the Roman frontier.

Sherd of black ware with whitish decoration, from Keiss, Caithness, 140 - 300 AD

Powerful local chieftains controlled contact with the Romans, keeping most of the Roman objects and passing some onto their followers.

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