|
Date: |
|
Description: | A fragment of a sandstone ??Scythe stone?? of unknown date, but probably from the Post medieval period. The stone would have been cylindrical but the ends and one side are broken. It is 87.6mm long, 43.7mm wide and 32.5mm thick. It tapers slightly towards one end which is extensively damaged making the shape of the section difficult to determine. This stone was initially thought to be a hone stone, but on further consideration it was realised that this use would produce a rectangular stone with concave sides where the tool has been rubbed to sharpen it, not the neat circular shape evident on this example. It has since been identified as a ??scythe stone?? or ??cigar stone??; a specially designed hone for scythes. It is not possible to date the stone precisely, but a post medieval date is most likely. ??A scythe needed constant sharpening, perhaps every quarter of an hour or so, hence a farm labourer could use two or three whetstones a day during harvest time as they often broke (http://ads.ahds.ac.uk/catalogue/archive/stones_ahrb_2005/cfm/Public/details/RockDetails.cfm?RockCode=HSCYTH&BCnt=1&Choice=4). This suggests that many scythe stones should be found in areas of arable farming. The stone is yellow, composed of rounded grains and a few black inclusions. A similar object made of gritstone was found in the same area; see the related record. For a modern synthetic example see http://shop.btcv.org.uk/shop/level3/17/stock/240 . | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Cooper, Amy - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
|
More Like this...
-
-
-
-
-
-
WHETSTONE
An incomplete pendant whetstone of…
-
-
-
-
|