This is a replica of the Corbridge Lanx, a silver tray – lanx is an eighteenth century
term for tray or decorative tray – and it was found in Corbridge and it’s an absolutely
phenomenal piece.
It’s unique with its decoration and symbology and a real great piece of workmanship.
The scene on the Lanx is quite complex and owes a lot more the Greek mythology or religion
than it does Roman.
What we think this is depicting is the place cult of Apollo which is the island of Delphos
in Greece.
In the last century or so of Corbridge’s life, Roman Britain was seemingly quite a
chaotic place.
There are threats to Britain from external raiders, both from the north and also from
the sea, and Britain itself had an uneasy relationship with central Empire.
We might therefore expect places like Corbridge to be dwindling.
But in fact the archaeology shows that Corbridge was still thriving, indeed possibly expanding
at a time when the settlements on Hadrian’s Wall were shrinking.
The Lanx shows that at least some of the residents of Corbridge were still very wealthy.
An extremely interesting thing about the Lanx is the time it was made – the fourth century
– and where it’s come to – the edge of the Empire in northern Britain.
What were the owners thinking about this mythology when they got it – this is Greek mythology,
hundreds and hundreds of years old and they would have this up in their house, maybe in
their dining room, and visitors coming would say, oh they’re very wealthy because they
can afford this solid silver – 4.6kg worth of silver – tray, but also they’re obviously
very well educated because they know all about the classical myths.
So it’s a real double meaning and a double show off.
We have very little evidence as to who the residents of Corbridge town were, however
judging by what we know of the garrisons of the frontier zone, we might expect people
to have come from across the Empire to live and to serve here.
We know there were people from Spain, Romania, Syria, North Africa, Gaul – modern-day France
– quite literally a cosmopolitan community.
Experts have studied this piece and compared it with other material and they believe it’s
from the eastern Mediterranean – either North Africa or Asia Minor, what we now call
Turkey and Syria – and due to the symbology – with Artemis, Apollo and Leto – they
believe it might be from Ephesus which is in Turkey.
Although this piece really harks back to the pagan myths and religions, when the piece
was found in the eighteenth century it was found with other silver pieces that from the
sketches had Christian motifs on.
And so we know that people’s thoughts about religion and what they’re identity and beliefs
were were quite mixed and quite changeable.
It seems that once Roman rule in Britain ended, that the people of Corbridge left.
Presumably, once the frontier of Hadrian’s Wall stopped working, there was no market
for the people of Corbridge to sell their goods.
However that’s not the end of Corbridge.
Within two hundred years of the end of Roman Britain, the Anglo Saxons were using the stones
from this site to build their new settlement just to the east.
Some of these buildings still stand, built with Roman stone as testament to the legacy
of Roman Corbridge.