Brough / Crococalana

Described and illustrated in Watts (1995) as a fragment of a circular Roman lead tank decorated with motifs and the Greek letters Iota-Chi [IX]. Described in Petts (2003) as a baptismal lead tank discovered in a metal-detector find. Listed in Taylor ([2006?]) in a group of Roman decorated tanks discovered in the East Midlands (Walesby, Bishop Norton, Caistor, Brough, Thorpe by Newark and Rushton). Petts cites D.J. Watts' Religion and Roman Britain: Forces of Change (London, 1998): 147-153, as source The online catalogue "The Gods and Goddesses of Roman Britain" [www.bedoyere.freeserve.co.uk/Rbgods.htm] has this font with reference to Watts (1941), as bearing the leters IX [Iesus Xristus]. This is probably the same object, either a font or a casket, noted in the Newark and Sherwood Museum Service, which informs: "it was found in Brough, which is about 5 miles north of Newark. The Romans knew it as the small town of Crococolana. The lead panel has four embossed panels. The top two panels are narrow and have a diagonal cross pattern, the bottom left has a diagonal pattern in the top corner, whilst the bottom right has two diagonal patterns and a circular pattern in the middle. Possibly used as a font for baptism’s following the introduction of Christianity or as a casket for storing clothing etc. A similar piece of lead was found in Thorpe which has the Chi Rho symbol (the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek) and the inscription VTERE EELIX, which should read VTERE FELIX and translates as ‘use me happily’. This has led to a suggestion that it may have been a casket containing wedding presents."