Get a handle on it!

I was given this little handle by Robin "Grass' Hopper last summer. He knows I have a love of the handle and I keep this little guy by my computer and put my finger thru it when contemplating. Ya I do think every once in a while. This handle is Roman 1st to 3rd century AD and was picked from a pile of shards along a beach in the Mediterranean. The round handle is sooooooo much more comfortable than the flat handle that I am accustomed to making. It's why I love diner coffee cups. They have round handles. I tried to duplicate the diner and Roman handle by making a slip mold. I do like to leave the slip seam on the handle as a backbone. I have often pondered when did the flat handle come into being and where????Anybody have the answer?????