Lamps were the commonest means of artificial lighting in antiquity. People filled them with oil, lighted the wick and carried on with their activities after dark. Hundreds of lamps recovered at the excavation testify to the almost uninterrupted use of the site.

When lighting needs were high, lamps with more than one wicks were employed (double-nozzled, three-nozzled, multi-nozzled). Some had a central hollow stem and were fixed on a tall lamp-holder or were even suspended, thus offering better light diffusion.

The oldest lamps were handmade, then wheelmade and, later on, made in clay and plaster moulds. In Roman times their upper surface was adorned with relief scenes inspired from cult, mythology, public and private life, nature and the animal kingdom. Their base often carried the maker’s mark or the name of the workshop’s owner.

During late antiquity a new form of lamp and the kandela, both made from glass, became popular, since this material allowed the dispersion of light in larger spaces. Later on, in the Middle Byzantine period, tall-footed, cup-shaped lamps were customary.