COSMETIC MORTAR

A copper-alloy zoomorphic cosmetic mortar with a bovine head at one end, dating from the Late Iron Age to the Roman period, 100 BC - 300 AD.

The form of the object appears almost complete. A suspension loop with a flat edge appears at the center of the base, an internal diameter of 8mm. The loop widens into a full crescent-shaped bow or body that tapers at the terminals, although one terminal (front terminal) is wider than the other. This creates a boat-like shape with a hollow body. Starting from the front terminal, there is a projection of a three-dimensional animal head at 45 degrees, tapering at the animal's snout. The face has a small pointed snout, two recessed annulats for eyes, and a pair of horns curving up and forwards, and ears projecting from the head. The ears have sub-triangular hollows rerepenting the ear opening, as well as hollows on the reverse between the ear and horn. The hollows are filled with bright orange corrosion or soil. These facial features are mostly intact, with slight damage to the tip of the left ear and partially the snout. Overall, these form the design of a bull or cow. 

The bow is mostly intact, with slight damage to the ridge, mostly breaks that protrude 1mm down the side of the object. The internal section, or vessel, of the bow is small, with a depth of 4.8mm. The grinding groove is U shaped in cross-section. The orange patina present within the vessel appears similar to the colour on the head. The terminal at the other end appears sheared or broken at the end, it is possible a more decorative terminal was originally present, as is common with other mortars.

There is no apparent decoration on the sides of the object. There are grooves of non-oxidized copper-alloy present, suggesting post-excavation factors damaged the object. There is a mixture of a green and grey patina, as well as the orange patina within the vessel and at the head of the object. The overall length is 76.1mm, with a width of 18.5mm and a height of 57mm. The object weighs 39.59g. 

There is no really close parallel in Jackson (2010), but 350 on page 157 has similarities.

Cosmetic sets are a particularly British object type and were in use before the Roman invasion. They date from 100 BC - AD 300, but the heyday of their use was the late 1st - 2nd century AD. They were used to grind a small amount of mineral powder, for use as a cosmetic or medicine.