These inscribed bronze pieces form part of a 2,000-year-old military discharge document belonging to a Roman sailor who served in the British fleet dating as far back as 150 AD. Research has shown that they formed what is referred to as a Fleet Diploma, or discharge papers. The document would have been issued by the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius to the sailor Tigernos, a native of Lanchester, who had completed his 26 years of active service.
The diploma identifies Britain's only named sailor and are on display in Durham Archaeology Museum.