Laden with delicacies such as stuffed dormice, peacock rissoles and sweet chestnuts, these plates and bowls would once have taken pride to be placed on a wealthy Roman’s dining table.
The find will be on display in the foyer of the Museum of London until 27 January.
Now, nearly 2,000 years later, the haul of 19 pieces of bronze tableware is offering a glimpse into life in the final days of Roman Britain.
The dishes were discovered during excavations at a building site in the City of London.
The dig has unearthed more than 1,000 artefacts so far – and archaeologists are saying it is the most important in decades.
The finds include an entire Roman street, a wooden door built 60 years after the death of Jesus and the skull of a bear probably used to entertain citizens at the nearby amphitheatre.
But the most impressive discovery is the tableware, found at the bottom of an 8ft well.
Historians believe the vessels were left there by some of the last Romans to quit the capital. One bowl had hooks to allow it to be displayed on the wall. Another could have been used for ablutions.
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There are holes in the dishes which had been repaired with lead – suggesting they were in regular use.
The silted-up well they were found in is near Moorgate, a stone’s throw from the Bank of England.
Coins also found in the well show it was built around 330AD and was out of use 50 years later.
Via: The Daily Grail
