VESSEL

Fragment of a large decorated lead vessel, of a type sometimes referred to as 'tanks', 'cisterns', 'caskets' or 'fonts', most likely originally of rectangular form, though circular examples are also known. The fragment has signs of having been deliberately chopped into pieces on three sides and is curved, though whether the present curvature has been caused by pre- or post-depositional factors is unknown.

The upper edge of the fragment represents the original rim of the vessel and bears a thicker, undecorated, band of lead. Parallel to the rim is a box of cable moulding containing applied lead lettering. The cable moulded box is enclosed at the beginning of the writing, marking the start point, but not at the broken right hand edge, which bears a clear and deliberate cut mark. It is likely that the surviving writing represents the complete phrase and the position of the cut mark was intended to preserve the phrase intact. The applied lettering reads 'MELEDOFECITFELIX', translating as 'Meledo made this, may you have good fortune'. Beneath this block of cable moulding lies another, again enclosed at the left hand edge but open at the right. This moulding contains a repeating scroll pattern which continues beyond the cut right hand edge and presumably continued around the circumference of the complete vessel.

The vessel belongs to an increasingly well-attested group of similar examples with a concentration in the East Midlands and East Anglia. A number of vessels, specifically examples from Lincolnshire, have strong aesthetic parallels with this example. Similar scroll work can be seen on a number of examples, but the vessel from Bishop Norton, Lincolnshire (The Collection museum, Lincoln, LCNCC : 1946.38) displays virtually identical scroll work. Similarly, the Bishop Norton vessel and another from Caistor, Lincolnshire (The Collection museum, Lincoln, LCNCC : 2002.512), both bear applied inscriptions contained within a rectangular cable moulded frame. The Caistor vessel reads 'CVNOBARRVSFECITVIVAS' ('Cunobarrus made me, may you live happily'). The Bishop Norton vessel is of particular note here as its partial text reads '...DOFECITFELIX.' The 'DO' has always been assumed to be the termination of a personal name, and the name 'MELEDO' on the present vessel supports this. Considering the other similarities between the two it is possible that they may have both originally borne the same name and represent the product of a single workshop.

The function of these vessels is much debated. A small number (eg an example from Walesby, Lincolnshire (The Collection museum, Lincoln, LCNCC : 1959.67)) bear Christian symbolism and this has given rise to a suggestion that they may be baptismal fonts, and their deliberate dismantling an attempt to avoid secular re-use. This theory cannot be automatically applied to all examples, however, and more secular uses must still be considered.