Details

COLEM:2000.72.526

Colchester Collections

pot, face pot, cremation vessel

This face pot contains the cremation of two individuals, one adult and one child, both unsexed. The bones are very poorly burnt, with some fragments only being partially charred. Isotope analysis of the petrous bone reveals the adult had spent their early years in Colchester. The pot may have been produced locally and dates to AD 43-300. Braithwaite type RB 31A. Face pots are unusual Roman cremation vessels that have a face applied to the body of the pot. Although there are similarities in style, each one is unique in some way. They are rare in Britain, but Colchester has one of the largest collections. Face pots have been associated with the Roman army, and this may explain their popularity in Colchester, which had a strong military community from AD 49. It is still unknown whether the face was meant to represent an image of the deceased, a god or goddess or had some other meaning.

0043 - 0300

Roman

ceramic, bone, buff ware

height: 260.00 mm
rim diameter: 162.00 mm
body diameter: 255.00 mm
base diameter: 102.00 mm

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