Abstrakt
The auxilliary camp of Gerulata (present-day Bratislava-Rusovce, Slovakia) was founded in the late Flavian period, and housed a cavalry ala for most of its existence. Its adjoining cemeteries contained Roman lamps as a major group of grave goods, in both cremation and inhumation graves until the early 3rd century AD, when lamps ceased to be deposited.
Altogether 93 graves out of 336 contained a total of 106 lamps, a largely 2nd century assembly of both Firma- and Bildlampen. Lamps played a part in funeral rites, usually to be burned on the pyre; at Gerulata they were second only to pottery in abundance though they occur in varying proportion across different cemeteries and burial types.
Their context in burial practice and relationship with other grave goods is analysed throughout; notably, inhumation graves otherwise lacking in funerary gifts have lamps associated with child burials. Despite comparison of relief stamps and decoration with other Noric-Pannonian material, the proportion of imports remains uncertain.
The lamps bear signs of use, personal ownership, and several unique relief stamps and inscriptions. Roman lamps in Gerulata are seen as tokens of Roman culture, much used by the inhabitants of this borderland settlement in both life and death.