Delightful evidence for the appearance of the harbour and city of Puteoli and of nearby Baiae is provided by a number of glass flasks, belonging to the late third or early fourth century. The flasks carry incised inscriptions and representations of Baiae and Puteoli. Sometimes the two cities are combined. Thirteen or perhaps fourteen specimens have been identified, intact or as sherds. The vessels are globular and have long, narrow necks (height 11-19 cm.). They must have contained a liquid, but may of course have been sold empty. They were found in Italy, Tunisia, Spain, Portugal, Germany and England. The place of discovery is not always known, but several come from tombs, one was found in baths, another in a dump from a temple, while a fragment from Ostia was found near the Barracks of the Fire Brigade (NSc 1909, 209).

A flask found near the ancient city of Populonia, Tuscany.
Photo: Corning Museum of Glass, USA.

Flask from Italy, now in Prague

The best preserved specimen depicting Puteoli was found in Italy and is now in Prague. Along the top runs the inscription FELIX PIE ZESAES CVM TVIS: "Fortunate one, drink, may you live with yours". In the lower registers are buildings and structures:

- STADIV(m), and a depiction of a stadium.
- SOLARIV(m): "sun-dial" or "terrace exposed to the sun".
- LARI: presumably lar(ar)i(um), "shrine of the Lares", but inevitably also interpreted as an error by the engraver in relation to SOLARIV, not an elegant solution.
- AMPHITHEAT(rum), and a depiction of an amphitheatre.
- Flanking the amphitheatre is the inscription (H)ORDION(ii) PAL(a)ES(tra): "wrestling-school of the family of the Hordeonii", a family that is documented in Puteoli.
- Below the amphitheatre is the inscription (h)ORTE(n)SIANA RIP(a): "the Hortensian sea-shore" (perhaps property of the famous orator Hortensius; a regio Hortensiana is documented).
- The inscription STRATA POS(t?) FORV(m): "road behind? the Forum".
- A depiction of a temple. In the interior is a deity with a radiate crown. In the pediment is a star. The staircase leading to the shrine is flanked by the inscription ASCE(n)SV(s) DOM(i)NI: "stairs of the master".
- THEAT(rum), and a depiction of a theatre.
- DECATRIA: presumably a reference to a structure in the regio Decatriae, which is documented otherwise.
- To the left of the theatre is the inscription C(a)ESARI(um), a temple dedicated to Caesar or the Imperial cult in general.
- To the right of the theatre is the inscription NIMISIA. This might be a Nemesianum, a temple of Nemesis. There could also be a relation with the gens Nimisia, documented in Puteoli.
- Below the theatre are the inscriptions INPVRIV and SACOMA. These stand for emporium, the commercial trading centre of Puteoli, and sacomarium, the public weigh station.
- A mole of the harbour of Puteoli, with arched openings.
- On the left part of the mole an arch supporting four Tritons. Above the Tritons is the inscription ISIV(m): Iseum, Temple of Isis.
- On the centre of the mole two columns supporting a nude, male figure (the Dioscures?). Between the columns is the inscription PILAE: "pillars" or "mole".
- On the right part of the mole an arch supporting a nude, male figure and four sea-horses. To the left is the inscription PELAGV(s): "the sea". Above the sea-horses is the inscription PVTIOLI: Puteoli.

Drawing of the decoration of a flask found in Italy, now in Prague.
Image: Popkin 2018, fig. 4.

Flask from Tunisia, now in England

A flask found in Tunisia, now in England, shows some differences:

- There are two amphitheatres (and two amphitheatres have been found in the city). Above one of these is the inscription STADIV(m). Two amphitheatres are also seen on a flask found in Portugal.
- The deity in the temple is holding a cornucopiae. It has been suggested that it is Fortuna, holding also a rudder. Others have suggested a deified Emperor and Serapis.
- Instead of strata post forum the inscription forum post forum (why not forum portus, comparable to the forum Karthaginiense in Carthage, called Maritimos Agora by Procopius? The Piazzale delle Corporazioni in Ostia seems to have been called forum Ostiense).

Drawing of the decoration of a flask found in Tunisia, now in St. Helens, England.
Image: Popkin 2018, fig. 6.

Drawing of the decoration of a flask found in Portugal.
Image: Dubois 1907, fig. 7.

Flask from Mérida, Spain

A flask found in Mérida, Spain could on the basis of the context be dated accurately to c. 290-310 AD. Along the top runs the inscription [dul]CIS ANIMA Z[e]SES CONST[ans?]: "Dear soul, may you live!". In the lower registers are buildings and structures:

- P[ute]OLI: Puteoli, above an arch supporting tritons.
- PILAE: "pillars" or "mole", between two columns supporting statues of men holding a lance or sceptre.
- PVTEOLI: Puteoli, above an arch supporting sea-horses.
- CAVRVS: mons Gaurus, a mountain near Puteoli.
- The mole of the harbour of Puteoli, with arched openings.
- A ship in full sail and a small boat.
- RI next to a crenellated tower: [fa]RI or RI(pa)? FAROS, perhaps the lighthouse of Misenum, is read on a flask from Rome with depictions of Baiae.
- PORTVS: "the harbour".
- STADIVM, in a depiction of a stadium.
- ALOTIANA: not explained; an inscription from Puteoli mentions the Genius Alotianus (CIL X, 1560).
- CVRONIANA: a reference to a family?
- AMP(h)ITHEATRV(m), in a depiction of an amphitheatre.
- PAL(a)ESTRA: "wrestling-school".
- A building with a door with a semicircular pediment, and the inscription MACELLVM: "market".
- (h)ORTE(n)SIANA.
- VICV(s) MAGNV(s): the name of a ward.
- A temple with a deity in the interior.
- ANNIANA ST[rata pos foru]: a reference to the gens Annia, documented in Puteoli.
- THERMAETANE. These might be the same baths as the THERMEAANI on a flask from Portugal with buildings in Puteoli. Various explanations have been suggested: Thermae Traiani, Seiani, Iani and Annianae.
- VICVI HVRANV: the name of a district, perhaps Vicus Thuranus.
- THEAT[ru(m)], above a damaged depiction of a theatre.
- ODIVM: odeum, a building designed for musical performances.
- A temple to the right of the theatre.
- ENPORIVM: emporium, the commercial trading centre of Puteoli.
- RIPA: "the sea-shore".

Drawing of the decoration of a flask found in Mérida, Spain, with reconstructed parts in red.
Image: Bejarano Osorio 2002, fig. 5b.

Some scholars regard the flasks as souvenirs, but that view seems a bit simplistic. The funerary use (by Christians?) should be noted. The flask from the temple dump may have been a votive offering. It is furthermore quite remarkable that on the flasks only Puteoli and Baiae are depicted, while so many flasks have been found all over the western half of the Empire. Apparently there was something special in the area, and here its healing baths come to mind. In the 470's Sidonius Apollinaris uses Baiae as a general term for a spa: "Are you enjoying your warm Baiae and the sulphurous water forced out from the hollows in the rough porous rock, and the bathing-pool so health-giving to liverish and consumptive invalids?" (Letters 5,14,1; translation W.B. Anderson). We may imagine that the flasks were filled with some of the healthy water and bought by people who had visited the baths and relaxed in the towns.

An illustration in a manuscript of De balneis Puteolanis by Peter of Eboli, from the early 13th century, shows a bathing man drinking from a bottle that has the same shape as the Roman flasks.

Illustration in a manuscript of Peter of Eboli, De balneis Puteolanis.
Image: Vatican Library.