In 1867, the British Museum received an extraordinary donation from Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks: the Franks Casket, a finely crafted whale bone chest. This remarkable example of Anglo-Saxon craftsmanship, considered one of the finest of its kind, was likely produced in Northumbria during the 8th century AD, possibly serving as a reliquary. At some point in its history, the right panel was separated from the main object and is now housed in the National Museum of the Bargello in Florence.

The casket is richly decorated with engravings depicting scenes from Christian tradition, as well as secular and ancient Roman themes. Additionally, it features a series of inscriptions, with only a few written in Latin, while the majority are in Old English, carved in the runic alphabet known as futhorc. Among the panels, for instance, are depictions of the Magi visiting Jesus and the legendary blacksmith Weland, a figure well known in medieval Scandinavian sources.

Particularly intriguing is the inscription, along with the corresponding image, engraved along the left side of the casket. It reads:  
"Romwalus and Reumwalus, twœgen gibroþær. Afœdde hiæ wylif in Romæcæstri, oþlæ unneg."  

Translated into Italian, this means:  
"Romulus and Remus, two brothers. A she-wolf nourished them in Rome-chester, far from their homeland."  

A fascinating detail is the name given to Rome: Rome-chester, incorporating the suffix -chester, derived from the Latin castrum (‘fortified camp’), which appears in many English place names such as Manchester, Winchester, Gloucester, and Worcester. Now, we must add Rome-chester to that list!  

The presence of this reference to Rome’s founding myth in a Christian context not only demonstrates the Anglo-Saxons' familiarity with the story but may also reflect the perspective of the early medieval Catholic Church. At the time, the rise of Rome was often seen as part of a divine plan to facilitate the spread of Christianity.