Byzantine

Byzantine Era

The Roman era continued for many years, even after the fall of the western Roman Empire; leaving only the Eastern Empire with it's capital in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). Due to the change of locality, being in the region of Byzantium, this time period has been called the Byzantine era.

Type: Oil Lamp
Age: 400 CE
Era: Byzantine
Culture: Byzantine Christian
Excavated: Unknown
Purchased: Undisclosed Seller

Top of Byzantine Oil Lamp

Type: Tesserae
Age: 400 CE
Era: Byzantine
Culture: Samarian/Roman
Excavated: Tell El-Farah
Purchased: From archaeological assistant on the excavation
Reference: https://www.tellelfara.com/

Tesserae were floor tiles. These little stones, typically of varying colors were arranged to create beautiful designs such as those below. Tesserae have been used to create tiled floor designs for thousands of years. Unlike those in the pictures, these Tesserae were not found in-situ. In other words, there's not a beautiful mosaic floor out there with two tiles missing. Well, I guess there could be, but not missing these two tiles.