100AD Genuine Ancient Decorated Clay Oil Lamp Roman Provincial Moesia (Bulgaria)

Description

Genuine, Handsome, Decorated Ancient Terra Cotta Oil Lamp about 100 A.D. Roman Provincial Moesia (Bulgaria).
CLASSIFICATION
: Roman Provincial Moesia Decorated Terra Cotta Oil Lamp.
ATTRIBUTION
: Roman Provincial Moesia, First Century A.D.
SIZE/MEASUREMENTS
:
Length: 79 millimeters (3 1/8 inches).
Width: 69 millimeters (2 5/8 inches).
Height: 22 millimeters (7/8 inch).
CONDITION
: Good integrity, all original with no repairs. Some very hard and stubborn alkaline soil deposits inside of bowl. Moderate wear around fill hole consistent with use in the ancient world.
DETAIL
: This is a well preserved terracotta oil lamp dated to the first century A.D. Its origin is Roman Provincial Moseia, present-day Bulgaria. The top surface of the oil lamp portrays an impressed braided pattern around the rim of the fill hole, a little indistinct, but basically a geometric pattern of a chain of small rectangles. There’s also a trademark of some sort on the underside surface of the pedestal. It too is a bit indistinct, but it seems to be a circle with a two characters inside the circle. It’s not possible really to determine whether they might have been letters or merely figures. But clearly the pedestal contains a trademark.
It was not uncommon for the artisans who produced these pieces to leave some sort of “trade mark” on the underside of the pedestal so as to identify it as their produce. The style is very characteristic of the lamps manufactured for domestic use in the Roman Provinces. As can be seen the design elements of the vessel are even after the passage of almost 2,000 years, by and large intact intact. Though by no means rare, it is uncommon to find such a nice design in such a well-preserved state – whole and relatively intact with no major breakage or repairs. The vessel was of course buried for somewhere around two thousand years in the soil.
As a consequence of this prolonged burial there are some pretty stubborn soil deposits adhering to the inside of vessel, as you can see. They are removable if you are patient and can work with your fingernail or a plastic toothpick, etc. The adhesions are almost like hard plaster – but it is a thin layer, and so can be lifted away from the surface of the lamp. Such lamps were mold-produced in two parts, then assembled by hand and then fired. Such oil lamps were produced in huge quantities both for local consumption as well as export throughout the Roman Empire. Oil was filled into the center hole, and a wick placed in the front hole.
The lamp is in very good condition, without breakage, cracking, or repairs notwithstanding the adhesions and chipped handle already described. There is a bit of wear around the fill hole where there would have been constant contact as the oil lamp was refilled from an earthenware oil pitcher. There is the slight wear and heat chipping one would expect around the nozzle. The integrity of the vessel is unimpeached, it is truly in very good condition, a remarkable, poignant, and evocative relic not only of the glory that was the Roman World, but of early Judaism and Christianity – not to mention the ancient Phoenician Empire.
HISTORY OF POTTERY
: Pottery is amongst the most abundant artifacts unearthed during excavations of Roman, Byzantine, and ancient Judaean and Hebrew sites. Abundant throughout the empire, specimens such as this were even routinely and systematically exported by the Romans and their Byzantine successors. Manufactured throughout the empire the product was widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean world and even beyond into Britain, Spain and Germany.
Oil lamps like this were utilitarian implements both for the kitchen, dining table, and for general household lighting. Think of them not only as a table lamp, but also as a flashlight. Most terra cotta pieces such as this were functional items, and tended to be rather plain – but oil lamps were oftentimes an exception, and could be ornately decorated. The most widely used pottery in the ancient world were oil lamps, bottles, unguentariums, pitchers, bowls and plates. Their basic shapes remained unchanged for over a thousand years. The bottles and pitchers were used to store wine, water, oil and other liquids.
HISTORY OF ANCIENT ROMAN MOESIA:
The Romans gained control/influence over what was to eventually become the Province of Moesia in 44 BC. In the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River, Moesia was situated in what are now portions of Serbia, Bulgaria, northernmost Macedonia (the Republic of), and northernmost Romania. Ethnically the Moesians were Thracian, Dacian and Illyrian tribes who had settled in the country of the “Moesi”. Roman history records little about them until during the reign of Augustus. All that was known was that the region was ruled by Burebista, a Getae king who established his rule over a large part of the Northern Balkans between 82 BC and 44 BC.
In 75 BC the Roman Proconsul of Macedonia had led a legionary army as far as the Danube and gained a victory over the inhabitants. Under Roman Emperor Octavius Augustus, Marcus Licinius Crassus (Proconsul of Macedonia and grandson of the Roman Triumvir “Crassus the Great”, contemporary of “Pompeii the Great” and financial backer of Julius Caesar), was sent to bring the native populations under control. He succeeded in conquering the tribes of Moesia in 30 B.C. Moesia actually became a Roman Province in 6 AD late in the reign of Octavius Augustus. The relationship between the Roman Empire and the Moesians was a symbiotic one.
Rome stimulated agriculture and commerce, raised the standard of living, and encouraged city life. Roman peace provided for the transmission of Greek culture and art. In exchange, the Moesians provided a supply of grain for the Romans. The native inhabitants also supplied men for the defense of the Roman Empire. In the reign of Domitian (85-86 A.D.) the province was split into Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior. The River Ciabrus (Tsibritsa) served as the boundary between the two. The east coast of Moesia was on the Black (Euxine) Sea. The Danube River, along with its tributaries, the Drinus (Drina) and the Margus (Morava) ran through the province.
Moesia was of strategic military significance for the Romans precisely for these reasons (its proximity to the Danube River and the Black Sea). Moesia's location was on the edge of the Roman Empire, connecting the Roman Provinces of Thrace and Pannonia, which was why a significant and deterrent Roman military presence was of paramount importance. The Roman Legions posted to Moesia Superior had the main role defending Macedonia and the trade routes between Thrace and Pannonia. The Roman legions posted to Moesia Inferior had a similar role in defending Thrace and the imperial interests at the intersection of the Black Sea and the Danube River.
The main threat to the Roman Legions defending these provinces were the Goths and Germanic tribes, as well as the Scythians and Sarmatians. Moesia never was fully Romanized because there was constant movement of the native tribes. The objective of the Roman Empire was fully to exploit the natural resources that Moesia had to offer. Those natural resources included gold and other minerals. Along with the precious natural resources, Moesia was rich in farmlands. Ti. Plautius Silvanus Aelianus was the first governor (57-67 A.D.) to add to the grain supply of Rome a great quantity of Moesian wheat. In addition to the farmlands, there was a vast amount of pasture land and orchards.
The chief towns of Upper Moesia were Singidunum (Belgrade), Viminacium (Kostolac), Remesiana (Bela Palanka), Bononia (Vidin) and Ratiaria (Archar). Of Lower Moesia: Ulpia (Gigen), Novae (Svishtov), Nicopolis ad Istrum (near the river Jantra), Odessus (Varna) and Tomis (Constanta). The poet Ovid was banished to Tomis in 9 A.D., and lived there until his death in 17 AD. Ovid was not fond of Tomis, or Moesia for that matter. He described the inhabitants as barbarians. Most of the disdain in letters was probably exaggerated but he was unhappy about being exiled so far from Rome.
Ovid complained that the farmers could not plow their fields without bringing their weapons into the fields with them such was the seriousness of the threat from the Goths and the Germanic tribes. The ancient city of Tomis is still exists beneath the modern city of Constanza. Archaeological excavations have recovered statuary (including the god of the Black Sea “Pontus”, and “Glycon” the sheep-headed snake-god), coins, the "Mosaic Building” (a three-story commercial complex which included warehouses filled with intact amphorae, and a large bath house).
In 86 AD the Dacian King Duras ordered his troops to attack Roman Moesia. The year following the attack the Roman emperor Domitian personally took charge of the situation in Moesia and reorganized it in 87 AD into two provinces; to the west, Moesia Superior, or Upper Moesia (as in “up river”), and to the east Moesia Inferior, or Lower Moesia (sometime referred to as “Ripa Thracia”), from the Danube river's mouth and then upstream. From Moesia began a strong offensive campaign into Dacia. Domitian’s Legionary General (Cornelius Fuscus) led five or six legions across the Danube.
The campaign ended without a decisive outcome, and the negotiated terms of the ensuing peace treaty were openly flouted by the Dacians. Ultimately it fell upon the Roman Emperor Trajan to settle the score with the Dacians. Upon his arrival in Moesia in 101 AD Trajan launched his first military campaign into the Dacian Kingdom, crossing to the northern bank of the Danube River and defeating the nearby Dacian army. However the Dacians had not simply “rolled over” for the Roman Legions, they had inflicted serious casualties, and so Trajan put off further military campaigns for the remainder of the year so as to allow his troops to heal, to reinforce, and to reorganize.
During the following winter the Dacian King (“Decebalus”) launched a counter-attack across the Danube further downstream, but this was repulsed. In response Trajan's army advanced further into Dacian territory and forced King Decebalus to submit a year later. Trajan returned to Rome in triumph and was granted the title “Dacius Maximus” (“Conqueror of Dacia”). In 105 AD however, Dacian King Decebalus again invaded Roman territory and attempted to incite against Rome other native tribes located further north of the Danube. Trajan again took personal charge of the ensuing military retribution, building a massive bridge over the Danube (designed by Apollodorus of Damascus), and eventually subdued Dacia in 106AD.
After a century and a half of prosperity, Roman Dacia was eventually abandoned to the (barbarian) Goths by Aurelian (270–275AD). As Roman Dacians relocated to safer territory south of the Danube, the central portion of Moesia took the name of Dacia Aureliana (later divided into Dacia Ripensis and Dacia Mediterranea). The district called Dardania (in Upper Moesia), was formed into a special province by Diocletian, with the capital at Naissus or Nissa (modern Niš). It was the birthplace of Emperor Constantine I in 272 AD. Diocletian later renamed Moesia Superior (less Dacia Aureliana) as Moesia Prima, and divided Moesia Inferior (less its westernmost portions) into Moesia Secunda and Scythia Minor.
As a frontier province, Moesia was strengthened by stations and fortresses erected along the southern bank of the Danube, and a wall was built from Axiopolis to Tomi as a protection against the Scythians and Sarmatians. The garrison of Moesia Secunda included Legio I Italica and Legio XI Claudia, as well as independent infantry units, cavalry units, and river flotillas. The Notitia Dignitatum lists its units and their bases as of the decade of 390AD. Units in Scythia Minor included Legio I Iovia and Legio II Herculia.
After 238 AD, Moesia was frequently invaded or raided by the Dacians, and by 250 AD, Eastern Germanic Goths. Hard-pressed to their rear by the Huns, in 376 AD the Goths again crossed the Danube during the reign of the Roman Emperor Valens. Eventually the Goths sttled in Moesia with the permission of Valens. However soon after their settlement their status and the extent of their privileges were disputed by Rome. In 378 A.D. an army of Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and some non-Germanic Alans defeated the Roman Emperor Valens in a great battle near Adrianople around 378 A.D. setting the stage for the final collapse of the Western Roman Empire.
Eventually the remnants of Moesia still under Roman control were lost around 395 A.D. when Emperor Theodosius died. Rome was no longer able to defend the frontier borders, and frequent attacks by the Goths led to the complete disintegration of the province. The successors to the Romans, the easternmost portion of the empire which became known as the “Byzantine Empire”, regained some control of Moesia after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. However throughout the sixth century Bulgar tribes started settling the area, joined by Salvic immigrants in the seventh century. In the seventh century Slavs and Bulgars founded the kingdoms of Serbia and Bulgaria in what had historically been Moesia, and Moesia was no more, and was never again.
ANCIENT ROMAN HISTORY:
One of the greatest civilizations of recorded history was the ancient Roman Empire. The Roman civilization, in relative terms the greatest military power in the history of the world, was founded in the 8th century (B.C.) on seven hills alongside Italy’s Tiber River. By the 4th Century (B.C.) the Romans were the dominant power on the Italian Peninsula, having defeated the Etruscans, Celts, Latins, and Greek Italian colonies. In the 3rd Century (B.C.) the Romans conquered Sicily, and in the following century defeated Carthage, and controlled Greece. Throughout the remainder of the 2nd Century (B.C.) the Roman Empire continued its gradual conquest of the Hellenistic (Greek Colonial) World by conquering Syria and Macedonia; and finally came to control Egypt and much of the Near East and Levant (Holy Land) in the 1st Century (B.C.).
The pinnacle of Roman power was achieved in the 1st Century (A.D.) as Rome conquered much of Britain and Western Europe. At its peak, the Roman Empire stretched from Britain in the West, throughout most of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, and into Asia Minor. For a brief time, the era of “Pax Romana”, a time of peace and consolidation reigned. Civilian emperors were the rule, and the culture flourished with a great deal of liberty enjoyed by the average Roman Citizen. However within 200 years the Roman Empire was in a state of steady decay, attacked by Germans, Goths, and Persians. The decline was temporarily halted by third century Emperor Diocletian.
In the 4th Century (A.D.) the Roman Empire was split between East and West. The Great Emperor Constantine again managed to temporarily arrest the decay of the Empire, but within a hundred years after his death the Persians captured Mesopotamia, Vandals infiltrated Gaul and Spain, and the Goths even sacked Rome itself. Most historians date the end of the Western Roman Empire to 476 (A.D.) when Emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed. However the Eastern Roman Empire (The Byzantine Empire) survived until the fall of Constantinople in 1453 A.D.
In the ancient world valuables such as coins and jewelry were commonly buried for safekeeping, and inevitably the owners would succumb to one of the many perils of the ancient world. Oftentimes the survivors of these individuals did not know where the valuables had been buried, and today, thousands of years later (occasionally massive) caches of coins and rings are still commonly uncovered throughout Europe and Asia Minor.
Throughout history these treasures have been inadvertently discovered by farmers in their fields, uncovered by erosion, and the target of unsystematic searches by treasure seekers. With the introduction of metal detectors and other modern technologies to Eastern Europe in the past three or four decades, an amazing number of new finds are seeing the light of day thousands of years after they were originally hidden by their past owners. And with the liberalization of post-Soviet Eastern Europe, new sources have opened eager to share in these ancient treasures.
Due to its fragile nature this particular piece is shipped in an oversized box with lots of Styrofoam peanuts. Domestic shipping (insured first class mail) is included in the price shown. Domestic shipping also
includes
USPS Delivery Confirmation (you might be able to update the status of your shipment on-line at the
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ADDITIONAL PURCHASES
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discount, typically about per item so as to reward you for the economies of combined shipping/insurance costs. Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers.
We do NOT recommend uninsured shipments, and expressly disclaim any responsibility for the loss of an uninsured shipment. Unfortunately the contents of parcels are easily “lost” or misdelivered by postal employees – even in the USA. If you intend to pay via PayPal, please be aware that PayPal Protection Policies REQUIRE insured, trackable shipments, which is why we include insurance and a USPS Delivery Confirmation at no extra charge (international tracking is at additional cost). We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. We will accept whatever payment method you are most comfortable with. If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price (less our original shipping costs).
Most of the items I offer come from the collection of a family friend who was active in the field of Archaeology for over forty years. However many of the items also come from purchases I make in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) from various institutions and dealers. Though I have always had an interest in archaeology, my own academic background was in sociology and cultural anthropology. After my retirement however, I found myself drawn to archaeology as well. Aside from my own personal collection, I have made extensive and frequent additions of my own via purchases on Ebay (of course), as well as many purchases from both dealers and institutions throughout the world – but especially in the Near East and in Eastern Europe. I spend over half of my year out of the United States, and have spent much of my life either in India or Eastern Europe. In fact much of what we generate on Yahoo, Amazon and Ebay goes to support The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as some other worthy institutions in Europe connected with Anthropology and Archaeology.
I acquire some small but interesting collections overseas from time-to-time, and have as well some duplicate items within my own collection which I occasionally decide to part with. Though I have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, my primary interest is in ancient jewelry. My wife also is an active participant in the “business” of antique and ancient jewelry, and is from Russia. I would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from me. There is a fee for mailing under separate cover. Whenever I am overseas I have made arrangements for purchases to be shipped out via domestic mail. If I am in the field, you may have to wait for a week or two for a COA to arrive via international air mail. But you can be sure your purchase will arrive properly packaged and promptly – even if I am absent. And when I am in a remote field location with merely a notebook computer, at times I am not able to access my email for a day or two, so be patient, I will always respond to every email. Please see our
"ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE."
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