Roman Indented Beaker, Large

Details

This charming type of pottery drinking cup was widespread in Roman Britain during the 3rd and 4th centuries. The Roman-British population probably used these elegant vessels as wine cups. The surface indentations acted as a form of handle that enabled the user to maintain a good grip.     

Made primarily in the Nene Valley around the present-day Peterborough, these pots were distributed widely throughout Britannia and found extensively on Hadrian's Wall. As with the original, we have thrown each cup on a potter's wheel and hand-shaped the distinctive indentations. 

This is a one-off item made during a demonstration and it there fore being sold for a bargain price. 

Materials

Terracotta, reduction fired. 

Dimensions

Approx. 215 mm high, 130mm diameter

Production

As with all my Museum Quality Replicas, we have made this pot, as the original would have been, entirely by hand from natural clay and using replicas of the types of tool that the ancient makers would have used. As each pot varies, you may not receive the same cup in the image, but you can be sure that your pot will be one of a kind due to the variations caused by the firing process. 

Health & Safety

This pot is a Museum Quality Replica made using the tools and techniques that ancient potters would have used during this era. As this is an unglazed pot with a porous surface, it will absorb some of the flavours during the cooking process or when used as food storage, which does add to the taste of future dishes. However, it does also mean that this pot does not meet modern Health and Safety standards, and therefore, we do not advise that you use it for cooking or storing foodstuffs. When ancient cooks used these pots, they relied on applying sufficient heat to the pot and contents to ensure that the heat killed all bacteria. Heating to over 70°C for at least 10 minutes would have killed most disease-causing bacteria, and temperatures of 100°C would do even more.  

Postage

All items are sent using a second class postal service; if you wish to have an item sent first class, please contact me for a quote. Many Thanks