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Description: | A lead alloy spindle whorl. The whorl has a flat base and a domed top with a central circular hole. There are some scratches and dents on the sides and faces. It has a diameter of 30.1mm and is 7.42mm thick. The whorl is in good condition with a creamy yellow patina. The top of the whorl is decorated with groups of chevrond and pellets. There is a slight groove in the middle of the wall of the central hole. The base is covered with raised radial lines. Decorated spindle whorls are very rare finds in excavations, but are often found by metal detectorists. They are usually biconical and are decorated on both faces with raised dots and radiating or zig-zag ribs. They have been found in ploughsoil over the site of Roman buildings, and in an excavated context dating from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century at an Austin Friary (Geake, 2001). It is thus very difficult to date decorated whorls, and it seems that they could have been in use at any time between the Roman and Late 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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