The Staffordshire Moorlands Pan is a mere 94 mm in diameter and weighs just 132.5g, but its historic significance is regarded as immeasurable. © 24 Hour Museum.

A souvenir from Roman Britain, unearthed in 2003 by a metal detectorist, has been bought for the nation by a unique partnership of three museums.

Dating to the mid-2nd century AD, the Staffordshire Moorlands Pan is a highly decorated bronze vessel inscribed with the names of four Hadrian’s Wall forts. Experts believe it may have belonged to a Roman soldier who commissioned it as a souvenir of his time serving at the northern extremity of the empire.

Two years after it was found in north Staffordshire it has been bought for £100,000 by the British Museum, the Potteries Museum and Art Gallery in Stoke-on-Trent and Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery in Carlisle.

Announcing the joint acquisition, Ralph Jackson, curator of Romano-British collections at the British Museum, described the pan as being of national and international importance.

"It is very appropriate that it be seen in the British Museum," he said, "but also wonderfully appropriate that it should also be seen in the north and the not so north."

Ralph Jackson, curator of Romano-British collections at the British Museum described the artefact as being of "national and international importance." © 24 Hour Museum.

Traditionally finds of this significance are offered for sale to the British Museum. However, in recognition of the Potteries Museum being the nearest institution to the find location and Tullie House’s ability to show it in the wider context of Hadrian’s Wall, it will be shared between all three.

It will now go on display in London until the end of 2005 after which it will spend 2006 on show at the Potteries Museum before heading to Carlisle in 2007.

For Ian Lawley, Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Head of Museums, the joint acquisition "marks a new era of co-operation between national and regional museums."

He added: "People in the museum sector have long talked about the idea of a nationally distributed collection; this acquisition makes this idea tangible in a very special way."

The names of four forts on Hadrian's Wall are inscribed on the pan: Bowness-on-Solway, Drumburgh, Stanwix and Castlesteads. © 24 Hour Museum.

The joint purchase was also welcomed by Tullie House Keeper of Archaeology Tim Padley who feels it will provide a physical link between the UK’s foremost Romano-British collection and the nearby Hadrian’s Wall itself.

"We have a really important collection of the western end of Hadrian’s Wall, but we feel very strongly that the collection is only part of the story - we want people to go out and see the wall because it's just fantastic," Tim told the 24 Hour Museum.

"We feel that the pan will raise awareness of the wall as a whole," he added. "It will bring people to see the museum and it will also encourage people to go and look at the wall itself."

The whole thing has been made possible thanks to a £112,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, which not only covered the cost of buying the artefact but will go towards the cost of displaying it.

"Access is really important to us - it’s absolutely vital to make sure that our funding is spread equally – that’s why we are particularly delighted," Kate Clark, HLF Deputy Director, told the 24 Hour Museum. "People buy lottery tickets all over the country, so it’s absolutely great that it should be seen by as many people as possible."

Experts are now speculating about th meaning of the inscriptions which decorate the pan. © 24 Hour Museum.

Much is yet to be discovered about the pan, its owner and how it came to be in north Staffordshire, but experts are beginning to consider its significance. Recent scholarship has sought to identify the meaning of the inscribed words: RIGORE VALI AELI DRACONIS.

While the first 10 letters appear to be a direct reference to Hadrian’s Wall, the rest is thought to be the name of the person who commissioned the pan - translated by experts as Aelius Draco. Draco, a Greek name, suggests whoever it was came from the eastern Roman Empire and Aelius, the Emperor Hadrian’s family name, was traditionally adopted by anyone obtaining citizenship under his rule.

This could help date the object, but also hints about the circumstances of its owner. What the pan does provide evidence for, however, is the status of Hadrian’s Wall, which Ralph Jackson believes "was iconic in the Roman world as it is today."

The pan first hit the headlines when it was found in 2003. Metal detectorist Kevin Blackburn and detecting partner Julian Lee discovered and immediately reported it to their local Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) Finds Liaison Officer, Jane Stewart.

"The most important thing from our perspective," Michael Lewis, Deputy Head of the PAS, told the 24 Hour Museum, "is there was no legal obligation on the finders to report this object and therefore you could argue that without the Portable Antiquities Scheme it’s possible the find would never have been recorded."

For more information about the Staffordshire Moorlands Pan visit the Portable Antiquities Scheme website.