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Description: | Incomplete copper alloy cosmetic mortar. The object is the chamber part of the set. The chamber is 68mm in length, 8mm in width with a 5mm wide opening into which the cosmetics were placed and then grinded. The outer sides are faceted and there is an integral suspension loop at the centre on the reverse. At one end is a small integral horn, probably representing a bovine horn. The other end is missing. The central chamber is much more eroded to one side than the other.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.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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