York, England-Phys.org A blue-green iridescent glass flask excavated in York more than 40 years ago has been identified as an Egyptian Kohl vessel by Hilary Cool of Barbican Research Associates, reports. Small flask found in Roman rubbish dated to the 2nd century Advertisement “By the end of the second century, the area across the river from the military fort had begun to develop into a serious civic center,” Cool said. “It looks like this was the place where military waste was being dumped,” he said. He notes that the walls of the vessel are thicker than those of most Roman bottles. The inside of most Roman bottles was shaped like the outside of the bottle, and bottles were made in a similar manner in Egypt. In the first and second centuries AdvertisementHowever, the Egyptians also made bottles with cylindrical internal hollows, such as the unusual York bottle. These bottles were useful for dispensing kohl from the applicator stick. “It wasn’t something that was widely traded beyond Egypt and Sudan – if it were, we would find containers more frequently,” Cool said. She thinks the rainbow bottle may have been brought to York by an Egyptian soldier, or someone who spent time in Egypt and adopted the custom of wearing kohl eyeliner. To read more about Roman cosmetics containers, visit “beauty lasts“
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