Heirloom Roman cup in Anglo-Saxon grave contains pig fat

A Roman bronze and enamel cup was discovered from a sixth-century burial in the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Scromby on the east coast of Lincolnshire. While vessels of this type have been found in the UK before, this is a rare example that has been unearthed from its original context during a modern, secure archaeological excavation rather than by amateur metal detecting from centuries past. Discovered by artifacts and antiquities.

The cemetery was first discovered by a metal detector in 2018. He discovered some Anglo-Saxon artefacts and reported them to the Lincolnshire Discovery Liaison Officer. The nature of the objects suggested they might have been grave goods, so archaeologists from the University of Sheffield were involved in the excavation of the site. During the investigation, the team excavated 49 tombs dating from AD 480 to 540, almost all of which contained rich grave goods. Many of the deceased were women and were buried with extremely lavish jewelry, beauty tools and accessories.

Since the excavation, researchers from multiple disciplines have analyzed the contents of the tomb, including human remains, metal artifacts and an ivory bag ring. Roughly contemporary with the tombs, the ivory rings were expensive items imported from the Kingdom of Aksum (now Eritrea) and were a symbol of wealth and status for the women who wore them and were buried with them.

The tomb containing the Roman cup is crude compared to most other tombs. It belonged to an adolescent woman who was buried wearing only two plain hoop brooches and a pair of wrist clasps, jewelery so common that it is found in 90% of sixth-century female burials in Lincolnshire. Among the other 48 tombs, only two contained fewer grave goods than hers.

However, this cup is unique. Only two other vessels have been found in the Scrumby grave, both of which were ordinary ceramic vessels buried in men’s graves, which contained other rich furnishings including shields, spears and knives. It was placed near her head and, unlike other fragments of Roman metalwork found in the cemetery, was intact and in usable condition. It even retains a welded base made from a thin sheet of metal (up to 0.8 mm thick) that is so fragile that similar containers are often missing this piece of metal. It is 2.25 inches tall and contains no more than 9.5 fluid ounces of liquid at full capacity. The exterior is decorated with vertical panels in different shapes such as half-moons, hearts, trumpets and triangles, and is decorated with enamel in bright colors such as aquamarine, red and deep violet-blue. There is no single enameled bronze Roman vessel in the British archaeological record with the same design. France has closer but not identical similarities.

French examples date to the second half of the 3rd century, and while similar British vessels were previously thought to date to the 1st or 2nd century, metallurgical analysis of the cups found that the alloy was consistent with those produced in Roman Britain in the 3rd century. This means the cup was likely at least 300 years old when it was buried with the Scromby girl.

A micro-dig of the soil inside the cup revealed organic residue above the bottom. Analysis of residual samples found higher concentrations of saturated fatty acids, consistent with degraded pig fat. The researchers couldn’t determine whether the fat was cooked (as part of a stew, for example) or if it was raw. If the latter, it is conceivable that it might have a cosmetic purpose, but this would not be possible without any other ingredients commonly found in cosmetic preparations. Instead, it may have had medicinal properties, as 6th-century sources do claim that the Franks used raw bacon fat to treat intestinal problems and help wounds heal cleanly. The cup’s prominent placement in the tomb suggests that it had ritual significance, and as the only vessel found in a female grave, and the only one with organic remains, it appears to have fulfilled some unknown ritual function.

As for how a third-century cup ended up in a young girl’s tomb three centuries later, there are two possible scenarios: it was picked up from a Roman tomb and used as a burial object, or it was a carefully preserved family heirloom. Scans of the cup revealed no evidence of restoration, and if it had been actively used for 300 years, such a fragile object would almost certainly require restoration. On the other hand, it is fragile. Even if it is buried in a grave, at least the thin base will be damaged. It had to have been carefully handled over generations, rather than a utilitarian object, to make it into the girl’s grave intact.

Her remains, along with those of other deceased persons in the Scrombey burials, are currently undergoing DNA analysis, so more information about her may yet come to light. Cup research published in European Journal of Archeology And can be accessed in full here.