Lead pig

From: Hints Common, Staffordshire
Date: AD 76

This pig is not an animal – ‘pig’ is another name for a metal bar or ingot. This one was found next to an old Roman road. It may have been on its way to be made into a pipe or some roofing material.

The Latin on the top says 'IMP•VESP•VII•T•IMP•V•COS'. Latin inscriptions were often written in a shortened form that used only the first few letters of a word. This means 'Cast while the Emperor Vespasian was consul for the seventh time, and Titus, imperator, consul for the fifth time.' Try and work it out yourself, now you know what it means.