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Description: | A cast copper alloy casket key. The handle/bow is a lozenge shape in plan with a knop on the exterior of each corner. In the centre there is an off-centre sub-lozenge shaped hole. The shank is sub-circular in section, with a thickened collar at the junction with the handle or bow. The collar consists of two ribs with a swollen section between the ridges. The shank is otherwise undecorated and the terminal of the shank is tubular. The bit is off-set and is a rectangular block two horizontal clefts. The surface of the key has a mid green coloured patina. In length, from the handle/bow to the terminal of the shank it measures 42.92mm, and the widest point is the handle which is 14.28mm. The thickness of the shank at the collar is 6.36mm. It weighs 10.3g. A similar key with a swollen collar is illustrated in Ottaway and Rogers (Ottaway, P. and Rogers, N. 2002 Craft, Industry and Everyday Life: Finds From Medieval York York Archaeological Trust and CBA), Nos. 14290 and 14291, which are dated to the mid 14th to early 15th centuries. However the handle is not similar, another example in Egan (Egan, G. 1998 The Medieval Household Daily Living c. 1150-c.1450 London, The Stationary Office), No. 332 which has a lozenge shaped bow with knops on the corners, and dates to the late 13th to mid 14th centuries.
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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