Discovery Centre Finds - Glass ‘bath flask’ & hexagonal bottle

CR1852 From Store to Store

Archive Blog post no. 5

Glass ‘bath flask’ and hexagonal bottle from Berkeley Street, Gloucester

Bath flasks of glass and sometimes metal were used to contain oils used in Roman baths. The perfumed oil was applied to the body and removed with a metal ‘strigil’ or scraper. The use of glass bath flasks was widespread across the Roman empire and examples are known from a range of sites including towns, villas and military sites. From Britain, large numbers of fragments have been excavated from the military bath houses at Caerleon in Wales and York. No remains of bath houses have yet been found in Gloucester, although finds of lead piping, hypocaust tiles and stone columns hint at a location to the north-west of the Roman forum.

This flask probably dates to the late 1st century AD and so may be related to the occupation of Gloucester’s Roman Legionary fortress. It is typical of earlier vessels of this type in having a small, neatly folded rim. Originally there were two handles forming small rings which were applied to the shoulder and folded over to attach to the neck. Many bath flasks would have been personal possessions carried to and from bath houses. This example retains a ring from a copper-alloy suspension chain. This allowed the flask to be hung up when not in use, probably to protect against breakage.

Also from Berkeley Street is this beautiful Roman blue glass hexagonal bottle. Like today, these bottles served as general purpose containers for liquids like oil or wine.