museum-of-artifacts:Romano-British acrostic (word-square). 2nd century AD.The acrostic is one of
museum-of-artifacts: Romano-British acrostic (word-square). 2nd century AD. The acrostic is one of only six in the world. One other example is known from this country, found during an excavation in Manchester in 1968. Two others were found at Pompeii and two at Duro-Europos. The inscription consists of five words which read the same both across, down and back to front. The acrostic is held by many to be a secret Christian sign used as a talisman and composed sometime before 79 AD. The literal translation has been the subject of much debate. Most commonly it is said to mean, ‘The great sower Arepo holds the wheel with force.’ The word TENET (holds) forms a central cross to the design; this is a traditional Christian symbol. The twenty-five letters can be re-arranged as APATERNOSTERO (repeated twice). This contains both the word Paternoster (an amalgram of the first two words of the Lord’s Prayer) and the A and O, alpha and omega, referring to Christ as the beginning and the end. -- source link