Summary
This bottle was excavated at the Commonwealth Block site between 1988 and 2003. It was manufactured using a two piece vertical mould with separate base part for "Dinneford's Solution of Magnesia" which was used as an antacid and a laxative.
Health and hygiene.
'Cleanliness is next to Godliness'. This is a difficult maxim to follow when 'there is not one bath in sixty', when sewerage gathers in cesspits and open drainage channels line the streets.But the residents of Little Lon did practice personal hygiene. Archaeologists have uncovered toothbrushes and toothpaste pots, scent bottles, soap dishes, combs and hairbrushes.
Clean teeth and neat hair did not guarantee good health however. Doctors were expensive, so ordinary people had to rely on medicines like Holloway's Ointment and Hall's Vegetable Pain Conqueror as well as Chinese herbal remedies. Children were dosed weekly with the laxative castor oil, to keep their bowels regular.
Physical Description
This light green bottle has a down tooled lip and a down tolled string rim. The neck is tapered and the body has an oval shape. The basal profile is flat and indented and it does not have a pontil scar. It would have used a cork to close it. The glass is heavily opalised.
Physical Description
Bottle. Two piece vertical mould with separate base part. Closure-cork, finish-two part, lip-down tooled, down-tooled string rim. Neck-tapered, body profile horizontal-oval, body profile vertical-straight. Basal profile -flat indentation. No pontil scar. Base 61 x 35mm, height 165mm. Dinnefords Solution of Magnesia was used as an antacid and a laxative. Embossed mark on side of bottle: "DINNEFORD"S SOLUTION OF MAGNESIA' Bottle manufacturer unidentified. c.1840-1880's
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
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Acquisition Information
Transfer from Heritage Victoria, Industry Superannuation Property Trust, 03 May 2005
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Manufacture Name
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Manufacture Date
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Manufactured For
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Inscriptions
On body: 'DINNEFORD'S/SOLUTION/OF MAGNESIA' (embossed).
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Context Number
27/23
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Site
[TCS] Australia, Victoria, Commonwealth Block, Melbourne
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Activity
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Specific Activity
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Colour
Green, Light
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Form
Two-part; V-shaped Rim; Cylindrical Body; Flat Indentation (Base)
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Shape
Ovoid
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Technique
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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EAMC Measurements
61 mm (Length), 35 mm (Width), 165 mm (Height), 177.17 (Weight)
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Keywords