Roman Cream Found Down A Drain

Left: can you see the scoop marks where Roman fingers dug out some cream?

A 2000-year-old Roman pot has been found in London with complete with cream and finger marks inside!

The metal pot was found in a Roman drain in Southwark in July 2003. When the pot was found the lid was shut tight, so archaeologists had no idea what might have been inside.

The pot was taken to the Museum of London where it was carefully opened. Inside is some sort of cream, with scoop marks where Roman fingers have helped themselves. This is a very rare find.

Left: the temple area may have looked like this in Roman times.
© Helen Davies.

As far as the archaeologists who found the pot know, nothing like this has ever been found before. Usually pots this old are found with no lids or are empty.

Sometimes ancient food pots are found with traces of dried-up food inside. This cream however is still slightly mushy - it hasn't dried out despite its 2000 years down the drain.

The metal pot looks almost as good as new because soggy ground around the drain kept out bacteria. Bacteria are tiny germs, which can cause lots of damage to ancient objects, rotting them away.

The Roman drain served part of a large group of temples. They would have been a very special place to Romans living in London 2000 years ago.

Archaeologists believe the pot may have been hidden in the drain for a particular reason. They are still working in the area and are hoping to find more clues to Roman life in London. The pot goes on display at the Museum of London from tomorrow, July 29 2003.

What do you think the cream is? Face cream? Lip balm? Nit cream? Write in with your ideas and we'll publish your letters on the site.

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