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Description: | a copper alloy Late Iron Age or Roman cosmetic mortar. The bow is crescent shaped but incomplete, both terminals are missing due to old breaks.The bow measures 38.49mm in length,8.24mm in width and 5.63mm in depth. The central groove shows signs of wear and is c.3mm in depth. The central loop at the base of the mortar is oval and is 12.94mm in length and 7.8mm in width. Above the central loop on both faces there are three recessed triangular cells, which would have contained enamel originally, this is now missing. This cosmetic mortar is late Iron Age or Roman in date and such objects are unique to Roman Britain, only one having been found outside Britain, in Northern France. They are believed to have been used with a pestle to grind small quantities of powder or cosmetics and have an association with fertility, reflected in their crescentic shape and male and female heads at the terminals.
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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