Handle

Date43-409

MediumEarthenware

ClassificationsComponent/part

Terms

Object numberC00977

DescriptionLarge curved handle from an amphora. Stamped "Saturni". Found at St Clement's Lane in 1865. London.

Amphoras are large vessels common in the Roman period. They were used for storing and transporting a great range of things, from water, to fruit and grains.

The 'Saturni' stamp may be part of a larger, missing inscription relating to the goddess Ops or Opis, who in Roman mythology was married to the god Saturn. She represented the earth in plenty: riches, goods, abundance and related also to sowing the earth and working on the land, which was a focus for religious rites and activities because it was so central to existence.

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