Krogulska, Maria; Zych, Iwona(Centrum Archeologii Śródziemnomorskiej Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2013)
Lanterns are not as commonly represented in published collections of finds from archaeological
contexts as could be expected compared to regular oil lamps. These sherds of wheelmade
pottery from Polish excavations on Bijan Island on the Euphrates were only recently identified as
a lantern in the shape of a kind of naiskos with a zoomorphic figurine above the opening. The article
discusses the function of such lanterns, mundane objects providing light in the darkness, but at the
same time exemplifying the apotropaic character of the flame in domestic shrine contexts....