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Vessels
Roman pottery was made in a range of standard forms. The names used in the database are all those used by modern scholars and are not necessarily those used by the Romans.
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Major forms
Flagon
These were used to serve liquids such as water, wine and beer. Other vessels
for serving liquids are ‘jug’ (with a serving spout) and flask
(without a handle).
Beaker
This term is used of vessels mainly used for drinking. They vary greatly
in size. Some hold only as much as a modern coffee cup, and others as
much as a pint glass. They are often covered with a coloured slip and
are decorated. Other forms of drinking vessels are the ‘cup’
(with a wide mouth like a bowl, but a small diameter) and ‘tankard’
(with a handle).
Storage jar
These are large vessels, usually with quite a narrow neck, that may have
been used for storing food or liquids. Some were used to collect water
from wells.
Cooking pot or jar
Some of these vessels were used for boiling water or cooking food over
an open fire. The pot was placed on the hearth with the wood or charcoal
piled round it to its widest point for maximum heat.
Examples of these vessels without sooting or signs of burning may have been used for storing food such as pickled vegetables and preserved fruits.
Small jar
This has the shape of a cooking pot but is the size of a beaker. They
rarely show signs of burning. Some have a handle and would have been used
for drinking (tankard), so perhaps examples without handles were also
used for drinking. Others may have been used to store food.
Bowl and dish
A ‘bowl’ is deep with tall sides and a ‘dish’
is shallow with low side walls. Some were used as table ware for serving
food. Others have sooting and were clearly used to cook food in a fire.
Another form is the ‘platter’ (large diameter and low sides).
Mortarium
This is a Latin word for ‘mortar’, as in ‘pestle and
mortar’. It was used for grinding up food such as herbs, and as
a general mixing bowl. Small stones (called ‘trituration grits’)
were deliberately added to the inside surface to help grind the food.
Lid
Shallow lids with a central handle were sometimes used with cooking pots,
but they are not common. Sometimes stone discs were used instead.
Amphora
This is a Latin term for large containers used to transport food round
the Empire. The main types of food carried in them were olive oil, wine
and fish-sauce. Unlike the other vessels described above, amphorae were
bought for their contents. In modern terms an amphora is a coke bottle,
not a cup. The coke bottle gets thrown away after it has been emptied,
while the cup is used again and again.
Minor forms
Tazza
This is an Italian word for ‘cup’. It is a small bowl with
a pedestal base, used for burning incense.
Unguentarium
This is a Latin term meaning ‘container for scented oil’.
In fact, the exact use of these small vessels is unknown.
Wine strainer
This is a bowl with an integral strainer. Whilst it is known they are
connected to drinking, exactly how they work is unknown.
Tettine
This a small jar with a thin spout to one side. Suggested uses are as
a baby’s drinking bottle or as a jug to refill oil lamps.