The jug with the enlarged lip, also called "mushroom", was found inside tomb 11 AR of the Phoenician-Punic necropolis of Sulky, and belongs to some grave goods which date from the first half of the fifth century B.C. It is characterised by a dark red englobe and has the typical decoration of grouped horizontal lines (fig. 1).

Fig. 1 - Bi-lobate truncated-cone jug from tomb AR 11 in the necropolis of Sulky. Municipal Archaeological Museum "F. Barreca" (photo by Unicity S.p.A.).

This type of jug is part of a ritual kit which was widespread in the Phoenician-Punic necropolis of Sulky and whose other fixed elements are the domestic amphora, the bi-lobed jug and the double-spouted oil lamp (fig. 2).

Fig. 2 - One of the sets of grave goods from the Phoenician-Punic necropolis of Sulky. Municipal Archaeological Museum "F. Barreca" (photo by C. Olianas).

The jug with the enlarged lip is the Phoenician and Punic ritual vessel par excellence: it is found, in fact, in the vast majority of Phoenician and Punic tombs from East to West, over a period of time between the VIII and the V centuries B.C. (fig. 3).

Fig. 3 - Mushroom-shaped jug from the northern necropolis of Tharros, end VII- early sixth century B.C. Antiquarium Arborense (Or) (http://www.antiquariumarborense.it/it/Museo/Archivi/Reperti/Immagini/037_DSC_5755.jpg).

The Sulky jug has a neck with two obvious bottlenecks, both at the top and at the bottom of the median cut, which were used to create bubbles which kept back the liquid in order not to pour too much of it (fig. 4). But what was the function of the jug with a mushroom-shaped lip? This, as we have seen, was part of the grave goods which were laid next to each deceased and, in this specific case, was used as a container for the ointments which the dead were sprinkled with when they were placed in the tombs.

Fig. 4 - Jug with enlarged or mushroom-shaped lip from grave 11 AR of Sulky with details of neck and handle. Municipal Archaeological Museum "F. Barreca" (photo by Unicity S.p.A.).