A lamp is first composed of the body of the lamp, known as the infundibulum . This is the container for the fuel of the lamp. The body usually took the shape of an inverted truncated cone or a rectangle. The top of the lamp is called the discus . This fit over the body and is not a part of very early clay lamps.
Some lamps have an ornamented rim known as a margo .
A reliefed cordon is a raised ridge like a cord around the lamp. Most lamps have a nozzle called the rostum, nasus, or myxus . The hole for the wick is also an important part and called the ellychnium . Many of the lamps were decorated. The picture below is a typical clay lamp with its parts labeled.