Roman Cosmetics Found

[Viggen]

Archaeologists excavating the site of a major Roman temple in London have found a sealed box containing a white cream still bearing the fingermarks of the person who last used it, nearly 2,000 years ago.

 

"This is of major significance," said Museum of London curator Francis Grew Monday.

The substance, which will now be chemically analyzed, could be face cream or even face paint, he told reporters.

"We are in completely uncharted territory here. Not only is the quality of workmanship of the box exceptional, but to find one in such good condition still sealed and with its original contents will raise huge interest around the world," he added.

 

Museum conservator Liz Barham who opened the fist-sized cylindrical tin box for the first time Monday, in front of the world's media, described the smell from the half-full container as "sulphurous" and "cheesy."

 

The box was found at the bottom of a ditch on the edge of the site of the temple next to the merging of two major roads into Roman London -- Watling Street from the port of Dover and Stane Street from the garrison town of Chichester.

 

full article at the BBC