A rare "souvenir" from the distant frontier of the Roman Empire has been found in Spain

The find was named the Berlanga Cup, after its discovery site in the Berlanga de Duero area in the Spanish province of Soria. The cup was found nearly 2000 kilometres from Hadrian's Wall, but its decoration points directly to this Roman frontier line in Britain.

Details

The object belongs to a rare group of so-called Hadrian's Wall pans - bronze vessels with enamel decoration and inscriptions associated with Hadrian's Wall. These bowls are usually seen as memorabilia, gifts or insignia for people who served on this frontier of the empire.

The main feature of the Berlanga Cup is the inscriptions with the names of the four forts on the eastern side of Hadrian's rampart: Cilurnum, Onno, Vindobala and Condercom. This makes the find particularly important: previously known similar vessels mentioned other parts of the wall, and this cup for the first time gives data specifically on the eastern side.

The researchers used epigraphic analysis, metal composition studies, 3D scanning and digital reconstruction. The analyses showed that the bowl was made in northern Britain, probably from lead-laden metal from mines in England or Wales.

According to the authors' version, the bowl could have belonged to a soldier from the Celtiberian region of Spain who served at Hadrian's Wall and then returned to his homeland. In favour of this version is also the fact that historically units associated with the Celtiberians did serve at Hadrian's rampart, including the Cohors I Celtiberorum.

Why it matters

This find shows how mobile the Roman Empire was. One small vessel links the countryside in Spain to the military frontier in Britain and helps to visualise the journey of a particular individual - a soldier who could take home the memory of service thousands of kilometres away from home.

In addition, the Berlanga Cup provides new data on the very series of vessels associated with Hadrian's Wall. It turns out to be the only known bowl of this type with the names of the forts of the eastern section of the wall, so it is important not only as a personal item, but also as a historical source on Roman Britain.

Background

Hadrian's Wall was built in the 2nd century AD in northern Roman Britain and served as one of the most famous fortified frontiers of the empire. It stretched roughly between the areas of modern Carlisle and Newcastle and included forts, towers and defences.

The location where the bowl was found was no accident either. Archaeological surveys of the La Cerrada de Arroyo area have shown traces of a Roman settlement, possibly a rural villa, which may have been in use in the 1st-4th centuries A.D. This supports the theory that the object ended up in Spain with a man who returned there after service.

Source

The study by Roberto De Pablo Martínez and co-authors is published in the journal Britannia in 2026: The Berlanga Cup. New Evidence of Hadrian's Wall Pans Found in Hispania Citerior (Spain). The authors studied the inscriptions, metal, decoration, 3D reconstruction and archaeological context of the find.