Table of Contents
Please note that this guide has not been fundamentally changed from the original print version of the Finds Recording Guide (Geake 2001), written when the database contained just 8,800 non-numismatic records.
Introduction
These sets, comprising a pestle and mortar, are likely to have been used for grinding small quantities of powders for cosmetic or medicinal use (Leahy and Lewis 2018, 108). Specific studies have been made by Jackson (1985; 2010), with an analysis of PAS examples by Worrell (2008).
PAS object type(s) to be used
Use COSMETIC MORTAR or COSMETIC PESTLE, accordingly
PAS classification
For both components, use this field to classify the location of the loop(s), using the following: end looped, centre looped; noting that pestles can also be double looped
Terms to use in the description
For terminology, see Jackson 1985. Note where the loop is (end looped or centre looped) and describe the terminals, which can be plain, knobbed or zoomorphic . A mortar has a bow and a groove; the pestle has a stem. Watch out for wear facets or polish in the groove of the mortar or the underside of the pestle. Also look for decoration on the sides of the mortar; they can have champlevé cells (usually triangular) for enamel.
Date
Such cosmetic grinders date to the late Iron Age and Roman periods (1st century BC-early 2nd century AD).
Examples
Search for all examples of cosmetic grinders
