Cignus

{{Short description|Type of Roman Empire metal spoon}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2015}}

{{notability|date=September 2024}}

File:Silver gilt spoon cat fish creature.JPG cignus spoon with a bird-headed handle and bowl decorated with a mythical marine creature. 4th century CE from the Hoxne Hoard]]

Cignus ({{langx|la|cygnus}}, meaning "swan"; plural: cigni) is a name used by archaeologists for a type of large Roman metal spoon{{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 }} with a short, curved, handle often formed as the neck and head of a swan. Cigni have been found in a number of Roman sites from the 4th and 5th centuries CE, including the Thetford and Hoxne Hoards in England.[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) 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}}