Details

COLEM:1898.88

Colchester Collections

bottle, feeding bottle, tettina

This small, spherical jug (form B12), made from natural blue-green glass, is commonly known as a feeding bottle, or tettina. It has a flared rim and a curved flat handle. Rather than being shaped from the main body of the jug, the conical spout looks to have been added separately and the body wall perforated to allow liquid to flow. Glass tettinae are incredibly rare from Roman Britain and this is one of the few near-complete examples.‘Feeding bottles’, also known as tettinae, are an unusual Roman vessel that usually have a small, upward pointing spout and handle. They are commonly ceramic and come in a range of fabrics but can also be made of glass. They have been found in burials of children but remain slightly mysterious. Although they are often interpreted as feeding bottles for infants, others have argued that they are lamp-fillers or feeders for the sick. Future work on the Colchester collection hopes to involve specialists in undertaking residue analysis, a scientific technique that analyses the residues that have absorbed into the pot, especially lipids. Additional scientific techniques can be used to distinguish between dairy products or animal fats/vegetable oils, which would hopefully solve the mystery of these vessels’ function.

Roman

height: 96.00 mm
diameter: 65.00 mm