Dominic Winter

128* Roman Coffin. A museum quality Roman lead tapering coffin lid, probably
4th century, wet sand-cast lead with cast decoration comprising bead and reel
borders dividing into three sections, central section with scroll pattern, end
sections divided with saltire cross of bead and reel, three of the quadrants filled
with scallop shell (pecten), the last with a circle, sometime broken into three
sections, 119cm x 34cm (47ins x 13ins)
Rare. Purchased by the present owner from metal detectorist Alan Pickering
who discovered the piece together with another similar in Suffolk in the 1970s.
In 1977 Toller recorded just 243 Roman lead coffins in Britain and only a handful
more have been discovered since.
(1) £7000-10000
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