Abstract
ROMAN LAMPS OF POŞTA (MOESIA INFERIOR) (TULCEA COUNTY)
The lamps referred to in this paper were discovered in the place called “Cotul Celicului”, west of Poşta village (Frecăţei, Tulcea county), within the territory of Noviodunum town. They were identified in three different archaeological campaigns, carried out with the occasion of archaeological salvage researches, in 1987, 2000 and 2003.
The Roman lamps of Poşta generally illustrate the common types, well known inside the Empire. Two of them are rather rare not only inside the province but also in other regions (lamps nos. 1-2). Both may be considered import objects although their origin is hard to establish. As in the case of all special luxury products, these are disseminated on vast areas, without the possibility of establishing concentration areas. Of better quality, lamps nos. 4-5, among which the latter is met more frequently in the Black Sea area, can be assigned to workshops outside the province. The rest of the lamps may be considered to be local products produced by west Pontic workshops, which imitated the widely spread products of the time. The lamp decorated with garlands and probably vine and oak leaves (no. 10) is also a local product that has emerged under the influence of the lamps decorated with grape vines and grapes and its workshop could be located at Durostorum or in the neighbourhood of this ancient centre.