Replica of the Rudge Cup

This is an electrotype copy of a small bronze bowl found in 1725 in a well on the site of a Roman villa. The bowl was probably made as a souvenir. It shows a schematized drawing of Hadrian's Wall originally picked out in coloured enamels. The Wall, built by Emperor Hadrian (reigned AD 117-138), was a continuous defensive barrier that guarded the north-western frontier of the province from barbarian invaders. It extended from coast to coast, running for 118 kilometres (73 miles) from Segedunum (Wallsend) on the River Tyne in the east, to Bowness on the Solway Firth in the west. Above the drawing are the names of five forts at the western end of the Wall: MAIS (Bowness-on-Solway), ABALLAVA (Burgh-by-Sands), VXELODUM (Stanwix), CAMBOGLANS (Castlesteads), BANNA (Birdoswald).