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Description: | Life-size ceramic head, with a shiny, dark brown, probably high tin or lead, glaze. The head is solid, but has hollow tubes representing the eyes and ears. The mouth appears to have been represented by a rectangular slot, but the head is broken here, and the part below the mouth is missing. A cleft across the top of the head may be a representation of a central hair parting, or may signify some sort of head gear. The dating of this head has not been determined. It is unlikely to date earlier than the 16th century, on the basis of the glaze, although a very late Medieval date may be possible. It could be relatively modern, although the owners of the property on which it was found had no knowledge of it and have owned the site since the early 1960's, which implies it must have been made before then. Helen, Andrew showed me this thing when he was in Winchester the other week. Apparently, some chap in the local archaeology society recommended to the finder that an MRI scan to establish whether anything might have been placed within the 'skull', would be advisable (not joking!). Oh dear, I think that you have to be nearly dead to qualify for an MRI and that you'd certainly have to go private to get a very ugly lump of clay scanned....! Validation's fun really, isn't it?! Sx
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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