Ancient pottery found near Manchester, England.

The following has been found inscribed on ancient walls and pottery in Rome, Manchester(see photograph above) and Pompeii amongst other locations.

This is a cryptograph, word square and palindrome originally used as graffiti by members of the early Christian church initially banned in the Roman Empire. The words "TENET" form a cross. Rearranged it produces the following:

P

A

T

E

R

O

S

T

E

R

From top to bottom and from left to right this translates as "OUR FATHER" with "A" and "O" at the beginning and the end. In addition "A" represents Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet and "O" represents omega, the last letter. In other words, Our Father is the beginning and the end. The seemingly innocent translation of this cryptograph is "Arepo the sower guides the wheels with care".