Excavations carried out in several domestic and funerary areas across the Portuguese
territory have resulted in the retrieval of a significant number of terracotta unguentaria. So far,
studies concerning this specific type of vessel are very rare in this western region of the Roman
Empire, and a wider reading concerning their characteristics, typology, function and chronology
is necessary. In this chapter, the available data on Roman terracotta unguentaria retrieved in the
Portuguese territory are presented, in order to enable further readings focused on the commercial
dynamics and importance of the adoption of this type of artefact in the western area of the Roman
Empire.
