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Description: | A lead alloy spindle whorl. The whorl is discoid and rectangular in section but with a circular recess round the central circular hole on one face. There are some scratches on the sides and faces. One side is relatively flat, whereas the other has been worn to the extent of leaving a lip around the outer edge and a wear mark running through the lip from inside to out. It has a diameter of 34.58mm and is 5.85mm thick and weighs 35.95g. The whorl is in good condition with a creamy yellow patina.Helen Geake writes: "Dating of lead whorls is difficult. The drop spindle with which they were used continued in use until the end of the medieval period in London and Winchester (Egan, 1998, "The Medieval Household: Daily Living c1150 - c1450"; and Biddle, 1990, "Object and Economy in Medieval Winchester"), and for perhaps a century longer in Norfolk (Margeson, 1993, "Norwich Households: Medieval and Post Medieval finds from Norwich Survey Excavations 1971 - 78"). The excavated assemblage from Winchester contains one lead whorl from a mid to late tenth century context." Undecorated spindle whorls can therefore date from the Roman, Early Medieval or Medieval periods.
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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