Handled Jar from Alcochete near Setúbal: 3rd to 4th centuries AD

The handled jar would have been useful when serving a number of vegetable recipes quoted by the Roman cookery book attributed to Apicius, such as the following one for mushrooms:

Mushrooms Ferro

Boiled in water, when dry and hot place the mushrooms in a mixture of garum and pepper which has been spiced with liquamen.

The illustration is a reconstruction of a Roman family in Portugal eating a meal. Flat-bottomed cups and bowls as well as the use of spoons indicates that meals were normally taken at a table, although there is no indication that partakers had individual plates. Only spoons, cups and (presumably) plates were provided for diners. Knives, if required, were often of the clasp-knife variety and were brought by the diner. Forks were hardly known.