Ancient Roman jar riddled with mystery

Burley bucket

www.google.com.au...:en-GBfficial&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch &sa=X&ei=Fg_wT-34Dq2yiQfGgqmVDQ&ved=0CEIQ_AUoAQ&biw=1920&bih=903

Perhaps to transport live stock?

Just to add my sixpenneth to the debate. My first reaction was it was a jar used for gardening since it is identical to one we have in ours which we use for growing strawberries. You can buy them in gardening shops!

Originally posted by yorkshirelad
Just to add my sixpenneth to the debate. My first reaction was it was a jar used for gardening since it is identical to one we have in ours which we use for growing strawberries. You can buy them in gardening shops!

that was my first thought too... my 2nd was that it could be a portable herb pot that could contain various herbs in their cooking.

however, ... we have many, many items of varying shapes and sizes that have no purpose other than to look pleasing to our eyes, ornaments and figurines for example... what's to say that EVERY find HAS to have another purpose? could it be that it was just an unusual pot that somebody liked?

if none of the others i suspect either octopus catcher or lamp with candles or burning oil, which would be the most decorative i suspect.

I was thinkin it is a jar to hold fragrant flowers
and herbs, basically a potpurri jar.

reply to post by Shane


Looks like a colander.
Anything you had to drain the water off of might have been placed in here.

The growing strawberries idea seems like a good one too since hanging gardens were created very early on in human history. Someone said livestock....lol, maybe they put the kids in here when they were bad. :

is there any evidence of burning on the inside? that would rule out lighting and perhaps stuff like incense

i'd go with potpurri as well since it could be filled with smelly stuff and put in a hallway and the natural drafts would circulate the smells around the building or we could do what they do on time team and if they don't know they just say something about ceremonial or something else so vague its silly

it could be a shower.

Pot Pourri?

Those nuts set relieved the thousand year old demon.

squid/octopuss trap ,
holes are there so that water can drain out as they lift it from the ocean bed

?

reply to post by Shane


Dormice as a popular snack, and when mice are scarce, a nice fat rat will do. MMM, tasty. i think we just figred out how the black death got started, catching rats for a rat-kabob.

The picture looks really similar to an incense burner that I used to have years ago. It was specifically used for burning things like clumps of sage. I looked on google images to see if I could find one that was similar to the one I had but not much luck.

All this is just speculation of course

My vote, Candle holder Illuminator. It would cast candle light on the walls in an interesting polkadot design. It can also be done with a metal candle holder, on the bottom with a replacable ceramic top. It must have only weighed 2 pounds, you could carry it.

Maybe used to store food that benefits from the airflow. Or maybe some kind of pet habitat(maybe for snakes or other things you don't want free roaming). Could have been a spider habitat so they could attempt to harvest the silk, it didn't work so they abandoned the idea(explaining its uniqueness).

hi op

its a scent jar

I think it was either for dried flowers or to put flame inside ie oil/butter/wax lamp

Originally posted by Shadow Herder
Used to keep minnows and small aquatic species alive in containment.

I have to agree with Shadow Herder (Bait jar, lobster trap).

Either that...or an Ancient Chia Pet!

My first thought was something to hold a small live animal.

Or maybe it's for drying foods/plants

reply to post by Shane


Strainer ?

it would work. Not sure what they would use it for though.