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Description: | A cast copper alloy rotary key dating from the medieval period medieval. The bow is broadly lozenge shaped in plan with a circular perforation in each of the four corners. There is a loop at the end of the bow opposite the shank and a collar where the bow joins the shank. There are two linear grooves visible on the top and bottom surfaces of the collar, transverse to the orientation of the shank, but the condition of the surface at this point makes this rather indistinct on the sides of the key. The shank is sub-circular in section with a central perforation within its terminal above the large bit. A channel runs down the base of the bit, in line with the shank. There are two clefts and two wards on the side of the bit facing the bow.
The key has a mass of 43.1 g. It is 86.3mm long, with a maximum width of 14.4mm (the diameter of the loop). A brown patina is visible on parts of the key, but where this is not present the surface is green. There are also some brown deposits on the key, probably a result of the key having been in the ground.
In the Museum of London's ??Medieval Catalogue" (1940 p133-144), Ward Perkins has introduced a classification system for door and chest keys. The key described in this record is most closely related to his Type VI. Ward Perkins describes the type: ??They are characterized by the solid shank, bored at the end to leave a conical hole, by the massive bit, and by the elaborate form of the bow. The latter may be lobed or lozenge-shaped or a combination of both ???? (p140). He also states that an additional feature on a certain number of these keys is a loop at the top for suspension. Ward Perkins dates a number of closely related copper alloy keys of Type VI to the 14th and 15th centuries, and argues that the suspension loop is probably a 15th century feature. This is the date suggested for the rotary key recorded here. | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Slarke, Duncan - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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