A Stone Cresset from Dulverton House, Gloucester

A COMPLETE, ALMOST CYLINDRICAL, LIMESTONE VESSEL was recovered from a postmedieval dump of soil outside Dulverton House, Pitt Street, Gloucester. The area lies between the former Infirmary and the Infirmarer’s Lodging of St Peter’s Abbey, now Gloucester Cathedral. The vessel has been identified as a cresset (lamp) based on analysis of the thick burnt residues coating its inner walls, which indicates it contained a mix of ruminant animal fats (probably tallow) with up to 50% nonruminant (e.g. pork) fat. Stone cressets are rare finds in archaeological contexts and are usually identified by light burning on the vessel or similarities of morphology with other burnt stone vessels. This is the first example to be subjected to residue analysis, which allows us to confirm that small stone vessels were used directly as lamps and that they did not always contain an inner ceramic vessel. It is possible that the Dulverton House cresset was used in the Abbey of St Peter to illuminate access to the church for the regular night-time offices.