We have this beautifully preserved, complete Roman oil lamp in our Design and Technology collection. It appears to have been recovered from a shipwreck and dates between the first and third centuries AD.
Roman lamps were very simple devices, consisting of an oil chamber and a projecting nozzle. Olive oil, the fuel most often used, was introduced through a filling-hole in the top of the chamber and a wick, normally of linen, was inserted into a wick- hole pierced in the nozzle.