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Description: | Medieval cast copper-alloy rotary key for a small lock, probably on a casket. The key has an oval bow with a central perforation, a shank with a broadly oval cross section which is thicker towards the bow, and a simple rectangular bit with two large clefts. There is a small, pointed protrusion at the end of the shank. The key has a well developed green patina and appears very worn. It is 34.5mm long, the bow is 9.3mm wide by 1.9mm thick, the shaft 4.5mm by 3.1mm and the bit 6.5mm by 2.2mm; it weighs 2.96 grams.
In: ??The Medieval Household, Daily Living c.1150-c.1450??, Egan (1998, p111) comments that small, crude keys with circular bows and mainly very simple bits was a long-lasting form, from at least the late 12th to the late 14th century. He suggests that these sometimes almost rudimentary keys may have been for locks on caskets (ibid.) Several similar keys can be seen on the database including WMID-5E6342. | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Burnett, Laura - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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