Samaritan

This lamp is dated c. 4th cent., CE. It is a particularly interesting lamp because it is Samaritan and because of the extensive fire damage on the lamp. The soot evidences use - and apparently on one such use the lamp itself caught fire.

Samaritan-type oil lamps of the fourth through seventh centuries have been found in large numbers in Samaria-Sebaste and other areas where Samaritan communities were concentrated. They were sold with a sealed fillinghole (which was broken by the purchaser), possibly to ensure ritual purity