Lamps like this may have been used in Jewish homes on their Sabbath. It has three spouts to hold wicks and was so efficient that once lit it stayed alight all day - re-lighting it would have been considered work and against the conventions of a day of rest.

It is one of only four examples found in Britain and a rare survival of Bristol's early medieval Jewish community. Three synagogues associated with this community are known to have existed in medieval Bristol.