[rabidralph]

Smelling 'cheesy' Museum conservator Liz Barham who opened the fist-sized cylindrical tin box for the first time on Monday, in front of the world's media, described the smell from the half-full container as "sulphurous" and "cheesy."

Gotta be Helen Thomas' make-up kit.

[AnAmericanMother]

My bet's on a white lead concoction used as a facial cosmetic. That would survive indefinitely - lead carbonate and lead hydroxide are basically stable and would last more or less forever if sealed up. Should be easily determined by analysis.

Otherwise, just the Ancient Roman equivalent of "Oil of Olay". The ancient literature (especially Ovid and Martial and other social satirists) is full of accounts of the various cosmetics used by women, including lots of face creams and "unguents." And I'll bet after a couple thousand years a jar of ANY oil or fat would smell a bit funky . . .

[ffusco]

Londinium Bump

[DittoJed2]

Too bad they are covering it up with a shopping complex.

[Clara Lou]

Really interesting. Thanks for the post.

[mhking]

Just damn.

If you want on the new list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...

[bedolido]

Mary Kay just died a few years ago... maybe she's older than we thought.

[Mind-numbed Robot]

...could be face cream or even face paint, he told reporters.

Or an early version of Preparation H.

[Prof Engineer]

Roman ping

[CathyRyan]

PING

[commish]

Tammy Faye Bakker has inquired into the availability of the cosmetics for her collection.

[Slicksadick]

smell from the half-full container as "sulphurous" and "cheesy."

Sounds like this may be the original culture for old crusty.

[dead]

Perfectly preserved ... A tiny Roman pot found on the south bank of the Thames
river and its contents are displayed during a press conference in London. The
contents, a white cream still bearing the finger marks of the last owner, are guessed
to have a function ranging from a face cream and toothpaste to something smeared
on goats before they were slaughtered. Photo: AFP

[SunkenCiv]

Just adding this to the GGG homepage, not sending a general distribution.

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.

[Badeye]

NEWSUPDATE

IN the same location as the Roman Cosmetics find, a engraving bearing an uncanny resemblence to Joan Collins using cosmetic products was discovered......

DEVELOPING

[SunkenCiv]

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