Oil Lamp - Lamp Typological Categories

Lamp Typological Categories

Typologically, lamps of the Ancient Mediterranean can be divided into six major categories

Wheel made: This category includes Greek and Egyptian lamps that date before the 3rd century BCE. They are characterized by simple, little or no decoration, and a wide pour hole, a lack of handles, and a pierced or unpierced lug. Pierced lugs occurred briefly between 4th and 3rd century BCE. Unpierced lugs continued until 1st century BCE.

Volute, Early Imperial: With volutes extending from their nozzles, these lamps were predominately produced in Italy during the Early Roman period. They have a wide discus, a narrow shoulder and no handle, elaborate imagery and artistic finishing, and a wide range of patterns of decoration.

High Imperial: These are late Roman. The shoulder is wider and the discus is smaller with fewer decorations. These lamps have handles and short plain nozzles, and less artistic finishing.

Frog: This is a regional style lamp exclusively produced in Egypt and found in the regions around it, between ca. 100 – 300 CE. The frog, (Heqet), is an Egyptian fertility symbol.

African Red Slip lamps were made in North Africa, but widely exported, and decorated in a red slip. They date from the second to the seventh century CE and comprise a wide variety of shapes including a flat, heavily decorated shoulder with a small and relatively shallow discus. Their decoration is either non-religious, Christian or Jewish. Grooves run from the nozzle back to the pouring hole and it is hypothesized that this is to take back spilled oil. These lamps often have more than one pour-hole.

Slipper lamps are oval shaped and found mainly in the Levant. They were produced between the 3rd to 9th century CE. Decorations include vine scrolls, palm wreaths, and Greek letters.

Factory lamps: Also called Firmalampen (from German), these are universal in distribution and simple in appearance. They have a channeled nozzle, plain discus, and 2 or 3 bumps on the shoulder. Initially made in factories in Northern Italy and Southern Gaul between 1st century and 3rd centuries CE, they were exported to all Roman provinces. The vast majority have been stamped on the bottom to identify the manufacturer.