It’s the top of a large, pointy, two-handled storage jar called an amphora (pl. amphorae).
Amphorae were used to transport olive oil and wine to Britain from across the Roman Empire.
Olive oil and wine were luxury goods, imported to Folkestone from the late Iron Age (1st century BC) and throughout the Roman occupation.
Several fragments have been found at Folkestone Roman Villa.
Amphorae could be up to 2 metres tall (as tall as an adult).
They would have stood in the corner of a Roman kitchen.
Did you know?
The distinctive spikes were important. Jammed into sand at the bottom of a ship’s hold, they stopped the cargo shifting around, which might cause the ship to sink during storms!
