RELIC OF THE ROMANS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20384, 12 October 1929, Page 3 (Supplement)

RELIC OF THE ROMANS.

SIGN OF THE CROSS.

DISCOVERY IN .WALES

EARLY CHRISTIANITY.

What is believed to be the earliest evidence of the existence of Christianity in Roman Wales has been discovered at Caerleon, Monmouthshire. An antefix — a kind of tile—bearing the sign of the Ci •oss, and dating frorn the third century, was found during the resumed excavations in the sito of the Roman fortress. This, it is held, would indicate that Christianity had been introduced into Britain at an earlier date than was generally supposed. Mr. V. E. Nash-Williams, of the National Museum of Wales, an eminent authority, who is in charge of the excavations,''said recently:— " The tile hears a Medusa's mask, and abovo it the symbol of the Cross —a Greek cross villi,, splayed ends. The latter symbol has all the appearance of being Christian, in which case it is'the first piece of direct evidence of the presence of Christianity in Roman Wales that has yet been found. " The discovery is epoch making; in that hitherto it has always been believed thai, Christianity did not reach Wales until, ot any rate, the sub-Roman period. The present evidence would seem to show that Christianity bad reached Wales at least 200 years earlier. " Not only does it represent the arrival of Christianity in Wales, but also it has been believed hitherto that Christianity never made much headway in the Roman army. Christianity appeared not to have penetrated into tliese Roman stations. This discovery .seems to show that too much weight lias been attached to this view. " These antefixes were used by the Roman legionaries for ' magical' purposes. Tb'y were, distributed at regular intervals along the caves of their buildings, and usually they boro various pagan symbols, which the, Roman soldiers believed to be of amuletic value in protecting them from ghostly foes—particularly tho evil eye. in the case of the antefix just, found it appears that the soldier was using the cross in a magical way:" No specimen of the kind reported to have been found is possessed by the British Museum.