Blue/Green Glass Bottles from Roman Britain: Square and Other Prismatic Forms

Square blue-green glass bottles became a familiar sight across the Roman Empire from the AD 60s, yet their broken remains have often been difficult to date. H. E. M. Cool begins with something easily missed: the patterns moulded into their bases. By sorting these designs and comparing their appearance over time, she can follow changes in the bottles' shapes, sizes and capacities.

The patterns also raise questions about how the vessels moved. Similar bases found in different provinces were once taken mainly as signs of long-distance trade, but Cool argues that the movements of Roman military units may better explain much of their distribution, with many bottles probably made locally. Their capacities suggest a further possibility: that they were widely used to hold household oil. From ordinary fragments of glass, the book builds a much more detailed picture of Roman production and everyday consumption.