This paper represents a reevaluation of previous knowledge of the distinctive bronze lamp in the shape of a ship, discovered on the locality of
Mezul, near Smederevo in Serbia, as well as new interpretations based on written sources, analogies and iconographic interpretation. The lamp
is specific due to its shape and decoration, its inscription, as well as extraordinary dimensions, since it is, by far, the biggest of all the late antique
lamps in the shape of a ship so far encountered. Even though many authors have written about it, numerous unanswered questions remain.
Particular attention is dedicated to the ship’s symbolism in early Christianity, then to the symbolism of lamp in the shape of a ship, as well as to
the complex meanings of the decoration on the lamp discovered near Smederevo. By linking the context of the finding and the lamp’s decoration
with the written and material sources that testify to the historical circumstances in the Danube region in the late Roman period, this paper
presents the possible connection of the lamp with yet undiscovered Christian sacral building, and its role on the local martyr cult.