Practical Invention. On the History of the Bayonet Mount in Antiquity

Abstract

Mainly on the basis of bronze lamps and vessels, the author ventures a preliminary survey of the origin and development of the so-called bayonet mount in antiquity. While the invention of the bayonet mount – presumably to be credited to the Egyptians – is still largely obscure, a fairly large number of significant monuments survives from antiquity, dating from a period of approx. 1,200 years. From Greek Archaic times to late antiquity, with certain chronological concentrations, remarkable variability in technical solutions can be seen.