Clay oil lamp

The clay oil lamp of first-century Palestine was a small wheel-thrown or moulded vessel — typically 8–12 cm long, the size of a closed fist — with three openings: a wide central hole for filling with olive oil, a narrow spout where the linen or flax wick emerged, and (sometimes) a vent. The wick, drawing oil up by capillary action, burned with a small steady yellow flame for eight to ten hours on a single fill. Two main types circulated. The 'Herodian lamp' (c. 50 BC – AD 70) was a simple round vessel with a sharply cut spout, plain or roughly slipped — the cheapest household model. The Roman 'discus lamp' was mould-made, with decorated upper surfaces depicting mythological or floral scenes — used in wealthier homes and shrines. Lamps were set on a stand (Greek lychnia) so the light reached the whole room (Matthew 5:15) and kept burning through the night to mark a home as inhabited. Jesus' parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1–13) turns on lamp-discipline: those who failed to bring extra oil could not relight at midnight and were locked out of the wedding.