A Cochlearium was a small Roman

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

 spoon with a long tapering handle.

History

Cochlearia have been found in a number of Roman sites from the 4th and 5th centuries CE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

, including the Thetford and Hoxne Hoards.

The word cochlea has a literal meaning of spiral or snail shell, leading many to conclude that the design of the spoon was so that the handle could be used to get snails or cockle

Cockle (bivalve)

Cockle is the common name for a group of small, edible, saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Cardiidae.Various species of cockles live in sandy sheltered beaches throughout the world....

s out of the shell.

A cochlearium, cochlear or cochleare are used as a Roman reference for a liquid measure being a spoonful. A cochlearium was also used to refer to a place where snails could be bred for eating.