19/06/2026
REPLE! Fill it up again! With the warmer weather upon us we wanted to raise this celebratory motto beaker on display at the Roman Painted House.
Motto beakers had cheery Latin exhortations painted in white and were used for social gatherings. The surviving decoration on this example has the letters R, E, and what appears to be the top part of a P which could be part of the exhortation REPLE ‘Fill it up again’.
The form is a called black slipped ware which reflects how the terracotta beaker is decorated by dipping the clay vessel into a black coloured slip, a thin solution of clay suspended in water, before firing it. The beaker is thought to be from the Moselle Valley near Trier 180AD-250AD.
The motto beaker among other archaeological finds can be seen on display at the The Roman Painted House Dover
Opening days (June–September) from 10am to 4pm:
📅 JUNE
• Saturday 20 June
• Friday 26 June
• Saturday 27 June
📅 JULY
• Saturday 4 July
• Tuesday 7 July
• Wednesday 8 July
• Friday 10 July
• Saturday 11 July
• Saturday 18 July
🌞 SUMMER HOLIDAYS (23 July – 30 August)
Open Thursday to Sunday every week
📅 Heritage Open Days open 11 – 20 September inclusive
[Image description: A reconstructed dark coloured round fluted pot with painted white swirl and dotted border decoration. There are white serifed letters R and E. It The pot is incomplete with pieces missing and the reconstruction is being supported with white acid-free tissue paper. One of the fragments is placed next to it.]
