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Description: | Incomplete copper alloy cosmetic mortar. The object is the chamber (mortar) part of the set. The chamber is 43mm in length, 6mm in width with a 4mm wide opening into which the cosmetics were placed and then grinded. At one end is a small integral moulding, perhaps representing a bovine head or horn as commonly seen on other cosmetic mortars. The other end is missing.
The mortar has been damaged and is currently convex rather than being straight or slightly concave as per most other examples.
This cosmetic mortar is late Iron Age or Roman in date and such objects are unique to Roman Britain, only one has been found outside Britain, in Northern France. They are believed to have been used to grind small quantities of powder or cosmetics and have an association with fertility, due to their crescent shape and some examples with male and female animal heads at the terminals. | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Daubney, Adam - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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