- Oil lamps like this would have been used as a source of light in the Roman period.
- It is made out of pottery.
- You would have poured oil, usually olive oil, in through the hole in the top.
- A wick would have been added through the spout.
Background information
Contextual images /videos
A Roman Villa was uncovered in Ingleby Barwick. Roman oil lamps would probably have been used in a Villa like this.
Curriculum possibilities
History:
- A local history study
- Significant places from the past
- Understand how we find out about the past
Science:
- Everyday materials and their properties
How to book the object
Museum name: Hartlepool Museum
Contact name: Caroline Shilson
Email: caroline.shilson@hartlepool.gov.uk
When you contact the museum please be clear where your school is located and check whether the museum that holds this object can deliver it to your area. In some cases, you may need to choose another object at a museum closer to your school.
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Background information
- Oil lamps like this would have been used as a source of light in the Roman period.
- It is made out of pottery.
- You would have poured oil, usually olive oil, in through the hole in the top.
- A wick would have been added through the spout.
Contextual images
A Roman Villa was uncovered in Ingleby Barwick. Roman oil lamps would probably have been used in a Villa like this.
Curriculum possibilities
History:
- A local history study
- Understand how knowledge of the past is constructed from a range of sources
- Devise historically accurate questions
- Continuity and change
Science
- Everyday materials and their properties
- light
Geography
- Settlement and land use
- Natural resources
- Trade links
How to book the object
Museum name: Hartlepool Museum
Contact name: Caroline Shilson
Email: caroline.shilson@hartlepool.gov.uk
When you contact the museum please be clear where your school is located and check whether the museum that holds this object can deliver it to your area. In some cases, you may need to choose another object at a museum closer to your school.
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Background information
1. This is a lamp used by ironstone miners to see underground from the 1920s to 1940s.
2. The light is a lit flame of acetylene gas. The gas is formed when water in the upper chamber is added to calcium carbide in the lower chamber.
3. Miners did not like how the light was a very bright lime green light as their eyes did not quickly adjust to look between the bright lit areas and shadows.
Contextual images
Content Coming Soon
Curriculum possibilities
KS 1 and 2 curriculum possibilities may be relevant.
KS 3 History: Social, cultural and technological changes (NB this lamp dates to 1940s)
Science: Chemical reactions, combustion, energy transfer, properties of metals
Non-formal curriculum: staying safe, dark and light
Sensory items: This lamp may be carefully handled. Alongside the lamp we can provide a torch with a green filter to emulate the carbide glow.
How to book this object
Museum name: Cleveland Ironstone Mining Museum
Contact name: Jean Banwell
Phone number: 01287 642877
Email: jean@ironstonemuseum.co.uk
When you contact the museum please be clear where your school is located and check whether the museum that holds this object can deliver it to your area. In some cases, you may need to choose another object at a museum closer to your school.