Type: Roman Glass (Tear Bottles)

Age: 100 BC-100 AD

Era: Roman

Excavated: Jerusalem

Psalm 56:8 (KJV) references collecting tears in a bottle when David prays to God, “Thou tellest my wanderings, put though my tears in Thy bottle; are they not in Thy Book?” The reference predates the birth of Christ by over 1000 years. Tear bottles were fairly common in Roman times, around the time of Christ, when mourners filled small glass bottles or cups with tears and placed them in burial tombs as symbols of respect. Sometimes women were even paid to cry into these vessels, as they walked along the mourning procession. Those crying the loudest ad producing the most tears received the most compensation (so the legend goes). The more anguish and tears produced, the more important and valued the deceased person was perceived to be. These tear bottles all come from Jerusalem.