2. Nothing Less Than20 Years Old, andDont Soapbox.
What did the Sumerians use for lighting?
3. AskClear and Specific Questions, withTime and Place in Mind.
Sign up and stay connected to your favorite communities.
Questions should be clear and specific as possible
Tweeting as [@17thCenturyMum]( and expert on histories of medici
Users should be able to provide sources on request
Dr. Hannah Newton: AMA on Histories of medicine, emotion, and childhood.
Answers should not be speculative or anecdotal
Racist or bigoted comments are not tolerated here
Answers must be in-depth and comprehensive
Comments should not consist solely of jokes
Archaeology Ancient Near East Southern Levant
Users shall behave with courtesy and politeness
6. Serious On-Topic Comments Only:No JokesAnecdotesClutter, or otherDigressions.
No soapboxing, or events and politics 20 years
1.Be Nice: No Racism, Bigotry, or Offensive Behavior.
The Sumerians used oil lamps as lights. Oil lamps were used as a source of light since the Stone Age, believe it or not. The first known stone oil lamp was found in Lascaux cave in France, and wasused over 10,000 years ago. In addition to stone lamps, ancients used other natural materials to contain their flames, such as shells. Scholars believe that many Sumerian stone oil lamps were constructed in the shape of the shells.Here is a Sumerian shell-shaped lamp in the British Museum. The Sumerians also used clay bowls as lamps.
Answers should not be only links or quotations
5. ProvidePrimary and Secondary SourcesIf Asked. No Tertiary Sources LikeWikipedia.
In addition to lamps, torches are also extremely well attested in literary texts although they do not survive at all well archaeologically. These would have been made of reeds, which we can confirm from texts listing reed deliveries for torches.
New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast
The way the lamps worked was the bottom of the vessel (shell, stone or clay bowl, etc) would be filled with fuel (usually some sort of oil, olive oil being the best option but rendered animal fat or fish oil being substituted if olive oil was not available), and a fiber wick (some sort of cloth or twine) would be laid into the fuel and positioned so that it poked up over the edge of the vessel. The wick would be lit, and would burn the fuel instead of the wick, giving a lasting source of light.
r/AskHistorians Panelists: Rome From Republic to Byzantine Empire
7.ReportComments That BreakReddiquetteorthe Subreddit Rules.
Answers must be original work, and cite all quotes