Mortarium

3D Model

Mortarium

Roman, 80 – 410 CE

Found at Little Chester, Derby

A mortarium (plural ‘mortaria’) is a thick-sided bowl used for crushing, grinding, pounding and mixing food. Grit was added to the inside of the mortaira (within the fabric of the clay) to help grind food into a paste.

Roman tastes in food favoured the use of sauces, relishes and blends of herbs and spices so mortaria are an important indicator of the spread of Roman food.

3D model created by volunteers as part of the Dynamic Collections Project. Scanned using an Artec Eva, processed in Artec Studio 17