Dig Into History

57

oil-burnin

designed

homes, sh

Oil-burnin

central pa

in the Me

from abou

such, they

the most

found art

archaeolo

throughou

region.

The na

small clay

from their

shape. Ea

large cent

which fue

oil — was

narrow no

for the wi

Wicks, wh

fashioned

linen or o

lamps’ fu

Slipper Lamp

here,

on the

shows

e the fine

the

k

p

he rear

o carry.

re

molds

formed

own on a

Mold-

ps first

e

region

uryB.C.E.

amps into

em to be

quantities

Mold-

er lamps

th raised

m

slipper

ere, were

s such as

Slavicek

ART-I-

FACTS

his Byzantine slipper lamp

was createdsometime

between the sixthand eighth

centuriesC.E.Apopular style of

nglampat the time, it was

to provide artificial light for

hops, and other buildings.

nglamps were a

art of day-to-day life

editerraneanarea

ut 1500B.C.E.As

yare one of

commonly

ifactsin

ogical sites

utthe

ame of these

ylamps came

rslipper-like

ach featured a

tral fill-hole into

el — usually olive

spoured and a

ozzle withanopening

ck to pass through.

hichwere typically

dfrom twisted strands of

other plant fibers, served as the

el delivery system.

LLL kkkclosely at thephoto

anddyou will see blacksooto

rim thewickhole.The soot

that the lampwas used, because

black residue is a naturalpart of

burning process. Althoughmost

Byzantine slipper lamps lack

handles, this slipper lamp

included ahandle at th

that made it easiert

These lampswe

manufacturedin

instead of being

by hand or thro

potterywheel.M

made clay lam

appeared in the

Mediterranean

in thethird centu

Impressing thela

molds allowed the

produced in largeq

quicklyandcheaply.

made Byzantine slippe

were oftendecoratedwit

designs thatdepictedpalm

branches or crosses. Somes

lamps, likethe one shownhe

decoratedwithabstractdesign

circlesandlines.

—Louise ChipleyS