Roman find returns to Alcester

Published: 06:00, 07 October 2016

Ray Taylor, of Alcester, has donated a Roman mortarium to the Roman Alcester Heritage Museum. Until he brought it into the museum during the 2016 Roman Festival, Mr Taylor had been using it as a birdbath, having found it in his garden in Roman Way a few years previously. Ray, Sara Wear, curator of human history at Warwickshire Museum, proudly hold the mortarium in the Roman Alcester Heritage Museum.

An 1,800-year-old Roman bowl, which was being used as a birdbath in Alcester, has taken pride of place in the town’s Roman museum in Globe House.

The bowl was unearthed by Alcester resident Ray Taylor in his back garden two years ago, but its significance was only discovered when he was encouraged by his daughter to take it to Alcester’s Roman Festival in May.

After being examined by Sara Wear, curator of human history at Warwickshire Museum, the bowl was identified as a moratarium, and would have been used to grind herbs and spices.

It was probably made at Mancestter in the north of the county or in Oxfordshire.

The moratorium, which is almost complete apart from a small damaged section on its lip, is believed to be one of only five or six such bowls discovered in such complete condition in the past 50 years.

It has now been cleaned up and experts at the Warwickshire Museum will continue to study the item in the future.

Laurence Thatcher, spokesperson for Alcester Roman Museum, said: “We are very grateful to Mr Taylor for the donation of the mortarium to our Roman museum. Alcester is one of Britain's most researched Roman settlements and this rare artefact is a welcome addition to the collection on display free of charge to the public.”

Stratford-upon-Avon Ben Lugg