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Two rare Roman lead ingots found in Wales
Two rare Roman lead ingots discovered by metal detectorists in Llangynfelyn, Ceredigion county, Wales, are the first of their kind found in west Wales. They were declared official treasure at a coroner’s inquest in January.
Nick Yallope and Peter Nicolas discovered two lead ingots while scanning a pasture on farmland belonging to Geraint Jenkins. The ingots were buried about a foot and a half under the surface and six and a half feet apart. They were cast in an elongated trapezoidal shape with a rectangular base. Their flat tops are embossed with the inscription IMP DOMIT CAE AUG XIII COS, meaning “Imperator Domitianus Caesar Augustus, consul for the thirteenth time.” The reference to the years of consulship dates the stamps to 87 A.D., six years into the reign of Emperor Domitian (r. 81-96 A.D.).
Known as pigs, the ingots were cast in moulds with inscriptions impressed on the bottom. The shape was chosen for ease of handling, stacking and shipping. They were large, up to two feet long and weighing an average of more than 150 lbs, an inherent theft deterrent. About 100 such pigs are known from Roman Britain and fewer than half of them are extant today. They are the main archaeological evidence of the Roman exploitation of Britain’s metal resources, one of the main motivations for Emperor Claudius’ invasion in 43 A.D., as no intact Roman mine workings survive. The Roman demand for lead in particular among the base metals was very high as it was used for water pipes, roofs and as alloys for metals used in weapons and construction.
The dates in the inscriptions on lead pigs are evidence that the Romans wasted no time working the mines in Britain, in use by local peoples going back centuries, as soon as they subdued an area. The earliest inscribed pigs, from the Mendips in Somerset, date to 49 A.D. and bear the names of legions. As the conquest proceeded to the other main lead mining regions over the next three decades, forts were built at mining sites, reflecting the army’s direct control and administrative of the lead resources of freshly-conquered areas. The conquest of Wales was completed in 78 A.D., so the Ceredigion pigs were cast less than a decade after all of Wales was under Roman control. The stamps are evidence that the lead mines in the area were still under Roman imperial administration, even as the areas that had been subdued earlier saw a transition to private companies and individual owners being granted rights to mine the ore.
A valuation committee will now assess the market value of the ingots and then a local museum will be given the opportunity to acquire the objects for the amount assessed. The fee will then be divided 50/50 between the finds and the landowner. The Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth is excited to acquire them up for its collection.
Carrie Canham, Curator of Ceredigion Museum said: ‘We are very excited about the possibility of acquiring these wonderful objects. Ceredigion’s rich mineral deposits were one of the main reasons why the Romans tried to conquer this area. Lead that was mined here would travel all over the Roman Empire, and these ingots draw attention to the significance of Ceredigion in building the empire of Emperor Domitian Caesar Augustus. We plan to share this story in our new archeology gallery, which will open in 2027, so the timing of this discovery could not be better.”
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