Icklingham No. 2

An article by Mawer (1994) notes and illustrates the identity and present location of three lead tanks of the Early Christian period from Icklingham, Suffolk. This one, found in 1971, and very similar to the other two, can be identified by having only the XR [chi-ro] monogram on the font side [the other two have different motifs on the front side]. According to Mawer (ibi.) this tank is now in Ipswich Museum. Reported in Petts (2003) as a baptism lead tank, one of three found in this locality [the third was claimed lost], ornamented with the monogram XP [chi-rho] and used for baptism in Roman Britain; Petts (ibid.) gives measurements for them between 97 cm and 46 cm of diameter [no specific measurements given for this one]. Petts cites S. West's "The Romano-British site at Icklingham" in East Anglian Archaeol. 3 (1976): 63-126, as source The online catalogue "The Gods and Goddesses of Roman Britain" [www.bedoyere.freeserve.co.uk/Rbgods.htm] has this font with a reference to RIB241610 [i.e. Collingwood and Wright, The Roman Inscriptions of Britain, 1995 c1956, v.1]. According to Petts (ibid.) this tank was found in 1971 near the baptistry, and it was "filled with a large deposit of iron objects including hinges, nails and two saws, as well as cakes of lead and the lug of a fourth lead tank". Petts (ibid.) dates all to Icklingham tanks and the baptistery to the second half of the 4th century. Noted in illustrated in Plunkett (2005) as "lead tubs or cisterns". [NB: another lead tank at this same locality is listed in this Index as Icklingham No. 2; the third one, now missing, is listed as Icklingham No.3; the baptistery is listed as entry No. 5; the fourth tank is listed as No. 4]