A batillum or vatillum was an ancient Roman iron shovel with a short handle used for various purposes, especially as a fire-shovel, chafing-dish, and for burning incense.1
Etymology
The name is possibly related to battualia "the exercise of soldiers and gladiators in fighting and fencing" which is related to the English verb to beat or to vase a vessel (in some Latinate languages 'b' and 'v' can be interchangeable).2
Bibliography
Bibliography
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Peck, Harry Thurston, ed. (1898). "Batillum". Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. New York: Harper & Brothers. p. 1514.