Lanchester Diploma

Found in 2016 by metal detectorist Mark Houston, near Lanchester, County Durham, this is the first complete Fleet Diploma to be discovered in the country, revealing the identity of one of Britain’s first named sailors. The diploma is made of a copper alloy and is now broken into eight fragments, although it would have originally consisted of two rectangular bronze plates attached together with metal wires. 

Roman Military Diplomas were the physical proof of the rights granted to non-citizen soldiers to mark their honourable discharge on retirement after 26 years of service. The emperor Antoninus Pius (AD 138-161) issued this diploma to Tigernos (Velvotigernus), a native of Lanchester, County Durham, in around AD 150. The diploma granted him and his descendants Roman citizenship and the legal right of marriage. To earn the diploma, he had served in the Classis Germanica - the Roman fleet in Germany, most likely for 26 years, before being honourably discharged upon his retirement. 

The diploma contains a wealth of information. Mark brought the diploma to the attention of the Portable Antiquities Scheme, which was instrumental in the reporting, recording, identification and final acquisition of the diploma by the Museum of Archaeology.