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Description: | A lead pilgrim's ampulla dating to the medieval period. The ampulla is of the familiar miniature phial shape although both handles at either side of the neck are missing. The top of the ampulla is still crimped together and looks as if it hasn't been used. There is a moulded 'W' half way down the neck, and there are three moulded transverse collars below this marking the extent of the neck. The main body of the obverse is decorated with a circle containing obscure radiating lines, some of which may be letters. At the top left of the circle there appears to be the letter 'J'. The area is very worn however and the lines may just be decoration. The field outside of the circle is decorated with an intense series of cross hatching. The reverse of the ampulla is decorated on the neck with another letter 'W'. Both 'W's on the neck face downwards towards the main body. If hung as such the letter therefore reads 'W', and if upside down, it reads 'M'. The combination therefore could imply the shrine Walsingham, and/or the person of Mary. Below the letter are four transvers collars. The space between the upper and middle collar is decorated with diagonal lines. The space below is decorated with a row of pellets, and the lowest space is decorated with vertical lines. The main body of the reverse is decorated with a scallop shell motif.This ampulla is identical in decoration to one found in a neighbouring field circa 400 meters away, recorded on the Portable Antiquities Schemes database as LIN-2646A3.An ampulla is a miniature flask or phial that carried holy water dispensed to pilgrims at shrines and holy wells, and are basically a pilgrim souvenir. They could be suspended and worn around the pilgrim's neck, or hung up in houses and barns. The water within them may have been in contact with a relic associated with different Saints, and the designs on the ampullas often reflected the figure or relic they were associated with.
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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