# Cignus

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{{Short description|Type of Roman Empire metal spoon}}
{{notability|date=September 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2026}}
[[File:Silver gilt spoon cat fish creature.JPG|thumb|right|alt=a short-handled spoon with fine detail marked in the bowl of the spoon of a cat-headed fish-tailed creature surrounded by fleur de lys|[Silver-gilt](/source/Silver-gilt) cignus spoon with a bird-headed handle and bowl decorated with a mythical marine creature.'' <small> 4th century CE from the [Hoxne Hoard](/source/Hoxne_Hoard)</small>'']]
'''Cignus''' ({{langx|la|cygnus}}, meaning 'swan'; {{plural form|{{lang|la|cigni}}}}) is a name used by archaeologists for a type of large [Roman](/source/Roman_Empire) metal spoon<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Swift |first=Ellen |date=January 2014 |title=Design, function and use-wear in spoons: reconstructing everyday Roman social practice |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-roman-archaeology/article/abs/design-function-and-usewear-in-spoons-reconstructing-everyday-roman-social-practice/87AE716283918200A2323BB46AE4EC00 |journal=Journal of Roman Archaeology |volume=27 |pages=203–237 |doi=10.1017/S1047759414001214 |issn=1047-7594|url-access=subscription }}</ref> with a short, curved, handle often formed as the neck and head of a [swan](/source/swan). Cigni have been found in a number of Roman sites from the 4th and 5th centuries [CE](/source/Common_era), including the [Thetford](/source/Thetford_Hoard) and [Hoxne Hoard](/source/Hoxne_Hoard)s in England.<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/l/large_spoons_from_thetford.aspx British Museum] retrieved 27 June 2010 (dead link 16 November 2022)</ref> It is not known for certain what the Romans called these utensils, but there are references to ''cigni'' in Roman sources in appropriate contexts.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

==See also==
*[Cochlearium](/source/Cochlearium)
*[Silver spoon](/source/Silver_spoon)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation | last=Johns | first=Catherine | year=2010 | title=The Hoxne Late Roman Treasure: Gold Jewellery and Silver Plate | publisher=British Museum Press | isbn=978-0-7141-1817-8 |postscript=.}}, pp.&nbsp;98–106
*Harald Mielsch, 'Miszellen zur spätantiken Toreutik', in Archäologisches Anzeiger 1992, pp.&nbsp;111–152.

Category:Spoons

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cignus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cignus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cignus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.