Details

COLEM:JOS.145

Colchester Collections

pot, face pot, cremation vessel

This face pot was buried in a grave with ceramic flagons and a lamp. The face is decorated with ‘horns’ above the eyebrows. This is very unusual on face pots from Britain but slightly more common on those from the area of the Danube in Germany. The burial group dates to AD 50-100. The cremation does not survive. Braithwaite type RB 13A. 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.

0050 - 0100

Roman

height: 265.00 mm
diameter: 265.00 mm

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