Byzantine and Christian Museum :: Permanent exhibition .::. I. From the ancient world to Byzantium .::. I.6. "In pastures green": Christians in the face of death
Clay lekythos (01524)
Exhibition room: I.6 In pastures green. Christians in the face of death
Date: 6th c.
Dimensions (cm): 17,5 Χ 8,5
A clay lekythos with a cylindrical body, long neck ending in a funnel-shaped rim and an
upright strap handle. It has incised decoration made up of numerous horizontal straight
lines on the rim and wavy lines [lower down] on the rim, on the shoulder and the body.
A layer of reddish slip has survived on the upper part.
In Early Christian times and before lekythoi were probably used to store scented oils.
They are common grave goods, though they have also been found in excavations of
dwellings and baths. This vessel was found in a tomb next to the Early Christian basilica
at Mygdaleza, near Stamata in Attica, during an excavation by the First Ephorate of
Byzantine Archaeology (1st EBA). It is dated to the 6th century.