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Description: | An incomplete cast lead or lead alloy pilgrim ampulla, dating from the late 12th-15th century AD (length: 51mm; width: 30.5mm; thickness: 9mm; weight: 47.15g).The artefact has a rounded base in plan but in narrow in side section with depressions in the centre down the length where the marked decoration occurs. The artefact becomes narrow at the neck in plan before slightly tapering outwards at the top where the opening to the hollow cavity would have been (the top is now damaged which the edges of the lead curling in one decoration. The top of the ampulla has also become flattened and in side section, the top leans to one direction. To either side of the neck, there are remains of an incomplete lead/ lead alloy attachment loop - the other loop being complete, where the ampulla would have originally been suspended from, possibly from around the pilgrim's neck. Within the depressions down the length of the artefact, on one side there are seven protruding ridges representing a crude scallop shell. On the opposing side, down its length, there appears to be a 'Z' with a singular ridge running up to the top of the artefact. However, if viewed across the ampulla's width, it appears to be the letter 'M' or 'N', which may be more likely. The artefact is in a worn and damaged condition.In his book 'Salisbury & South Wiltshire Museum Medieval Catalogue: Pilgrim Souvenirs & Secular Badges', pages 57-8, Brian Spencer describes ampullae as 'flask-shaped, but with a narrow, flattish section, they were designed to contain a dose of the thaumaturgic water that was dispensed to pilgrims at many shrines and holy wells.' He continues that they came 'into use in the last quarter of the twelfth century' and were 'almost the only kind of pilgrim souvenir to be had during the thirteen century'.Additionally, in Spencer's publication 'Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 7: Pilgrim Souvenirs & Secular Badges', 1998, page 41, he states that 'the scallop was essentially the emblem of the apostle St. James the Greater. From at least the beginning of the 12th century it was also the souvenir worn by pilgrims to his shrine in Compostela in north-west Spain. From the 11th century, the scallop shell was the most widely known pilgrim sign and also the generic emblem of pilgrimage itself'.
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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