VESSEL

An almost complete enamelled copper alloy panel from Roman vessel; a small hexagonal vase, vessel or flask dating from AD 43 - 410. The panel is flat and rectangular in section. It has tapering sides, and is broken at the narrower end (13.9mm wide). The break is worn and patinated. The panel is decorated with a scrollwork design in relief, contained within a border of reserved metal decorated with small oblique nicks or grooves. Traces of red and blue enamel remain in the recessed areas. The pattern is identical to that on SF-0349E2 which is fully described. The two long sides of the panel are raised flanges protruding from the front face at an angle of about 45 degrees. These flanges are about 2.5mm in height but do not extend to their full height at any point, the original edge haveing been lost through damage. They run for the entire length of the panel. At 13mm from the wider end of the panel the flanges each have a small circular rivet hole, both incomplete. The exposed metal has a smooth, dark green patina. The object is 60.1mm long, 30.2mm wide and 2.4mm thick. It weighs 17.48gm.

Almost identical objects recorded on the PAS database include SF-0349E2 and SF10415. The former does not have any rivet holes, making it possible that it is a patera handle rather than a vase component, while the latter has the same design but only blue enamel in place of the blue and red on the other two examples.

SF10415 was identified by Ralph Jackson and has been published by Worrell (2012, 75-76; figs. 8.6-8.7) who writes "An almost complete copper-alloy panel originating from a little roman hexagonal vase, which tapers from top to bottom. The panels were rivetted together by their flanges. [...] There is a near complete vase, (of unknown provenance) in the Rheinisches Landesmuseum, Bonn, and panel fragments include one from Silchester (R. Jackson 2003, pers.comm)."

More recently, an example was excavated by MOLA in Moorgate in 2013 (accession number: MOQ10[6009]<1448>). They found 5 pieces on a single vesse, two of them complete. It has been published here: https://www.mola.org.uk/blog/finds-spotlight-enamelled-roman-flask-moorgate. They suggest that these flasks, like other forms of enamelled vessels, were made in Britiannia.

Another, complete example is a grave good from a female cremation burial near Dere Street, excavated in 1974 and now in Corbridge Museum (CO23270). For images see: http://www.northernvicar.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/22-DSC01535.jpg and http://www.northernvicar.co.uk/2016/07/16/hadrians-wall-exploration-15-corbridge-museum-and-store/. The Corbridge example dates from about AD 100 - 150. The record for it suggests that these vessels were probably used for perfume or oil and that only about 15 examples are known. Distribution is concentrated in Britain but there are a few in Germany and even one on the Black Sea. The Corbridge example has been published in Archaeologia Aeliana, 1995, Series 5, vol 23.

Many thanks to David Brear of the Yorkshire Archaeological Society for drawing my attention to these last two examples.

Michael Marshall, finds specialist with MOLA, is currently working with Frances McIntosh to publish a note on the Moorgate and Corbridge examples in Britannia. They have identified 14 known examples, making this fragment the 15th known. 11 of the 15 are from the UK.