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Description: | Incomplete cast copper-alloy Roman key. This object represents the handle of the key. The shank and bit are entirely missing. The handle is formed from an openwork trilobate or ??Fleur-de-lis??, which is 5.5mm thick, with a higher central lobe, 25.24mm high, flanked by two smaller lobes, 19.24mm high. On top of the central lobe is an integral globular knop on a conical neck, 8.36mm high. The lobes sit upon a rectangular block, which is 19.9mm wide, 7.6mm high and 8.9mm thick, that is decorated with two parallel incised lines around all sides. Beneath this, the block is waisted into a ??neck?? which then joins with another, integral, rectangular block, 19.38mm wide, 5.5mm high and 8.98mm thick. This is also decorated with two parallel-incised lines around all sides. Beneath this smaller block is the point of the break. It is possible to see underneath the block the circular recess that would have accommodated the shank. There is a crack running from the break edge up through one long side of the lower block onto the neck portion on one side, and one crack on the lower block only on the opposing side. The break edges are worn smooth suggesting damage occurred in antiquity. The object has been treated since discovery and now has a dark brown patina. Patches of corrosion, now halted, show as orangey brown and bright green. There is one patch of bronzey gold to one long side of the larger block. The object has an overall length of 55mm, is 30.82mm wide and weighs 30.58g. A similar, but not exact example can be seen in Crummy 1983, figure 142, number 4161. Keys of this type have been dated to post 150AD. | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | McDonald, Caroline - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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