Unpublished roman terracotta oil lamps in Matrouh archaeological museum

Abstract EN

In daily life of antiquity, the prevalence of terracotta oil lamps makes them a fascinating artifact of study, whether as a representation of individual preferences, religious ritual, popular trends or evidence of commercial trade patterns.

Matrouh archaeological museum acquires ten interesting roman oil lamps, which are unpublished before and studied in this paper for the first time.

they were collected from the stores of several museums around Egypt such as Suez national museum, Graeco-roman museum of Alexandria, Ismailia museum and from Saqqara and seemed to be produced in the usual pottery workshops of Graeco-Roman Egypt.

as it is common in the field of archeology, they are neither identified nor dated precisely.

since the lamps’ typology is a sign of local pottery production, careful investigations may determine the provenance and chronology.

the study also presents a carful description of each object enhanced by its registration number, material and dimensions, along with photographs from different angles to document lamps’ main details digitally.

the museum and its visitors can contribute from the study results as well as specialists in the fields of Graeco-Roman archeology.