Pottery mortarium

Roman Britain, 1st century AD
From London

Roman tastes in food favoured the use of sauces, relishes and subtly-blended herbs and spices. Such ingredients often needed to be ground or puréed, and a strong mixing-bowl with a grit-roughened interior was, therefore, an essential kitchen utensil.

Mortaria first appear in Britain before the Roman conquest, implying that there were people, whether British or immigrants, who enjoyed Roman cuisine, just as there were British aristocrats who eagerly imported wine from the Roman world. This particular mortarium is stamped on the rim with the name of the manufacturer, Sollus, and was made in the early Roman period in the Verulanium (St Albans, Hertfordshire) area.