There are a number of Roman lead ingots on display in the Grosvenor Museum. Lead-bearing ores were very important to the Romans, not just for the lead, but because silver often occurs in the same veins. Romans mined for lead and silver in the hills of Flintshire, a few km west of Chester, and exported it widely. The pig (ingot) below weighs 87kg, and was found buried beneath the surface of the Roodee. Close to it were oaken piles, Roman pottery, and coins, suggesting there may have been a jetty and the pig was dropped overboard.
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