Museum Location: Orkney Museum, Kirbuster Farm Museum
Period:: 1600-1800
Summary: Cruisie lamps were used in homes in Orkney from the 1600 to the 1800s. They are simply oil lamps, made by hammering thin sheets of iron into a mould cut into a stone, then the metal was trimmed and filed smooth.
The metal fixing at the top could be used as a hook or driven into a stone wall. The oil used was mostly derived from fish livers, which were boiled and the oil skimmed off the top of the water. Dogfish were popular for this purpose as their livers provided a quantity of oil and they made good eating as well. The blubber of seals and whales was also used, if available.
Read more about Orkney Cruisie oil lamps here: https://www.orkneymuseums.co.uk/cruise-mould/
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