Details

COLEM:JOS.48

Colchester Collections

This glass flask was one of a few grave goods associated with the tombstone of centurion Marcus Favonius Facilis. It is a flask with a rounded conical body (form C5). This type of glass flask was used throughout the first century AD but this example dates before AD 60/1 as we know Facilis was buried before Boudica’s destruction of the Roman town.Colchester Museums curate one of the best collections of Roman glass in the country, especially of the first century AD thanks to Boudica’s rebellion and destruction of the town. The Romans used glass to manufacture a huge range of objects, from bottles, bowls and bath flasks, to hairpins, gaming counters and even windowpanes. In the early period glass vessels were imported into Britain but, from the second half of the first century AD, glass was also made here. The development of glass blowing techniques meant that certain items could be produced cheaply and in large quantities. Glass is often thought to be rare from the Roman world, because it is so fragile, but the main reason for its rarity is because it was recycled throughout the Roman period.

0043 - 0060

Roman