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Description: | Medieval or post medieval key; incomplete cast copper alloy casket key. The dating of this key is tentative but it seems likely to be of the 15th or 16thcentury. The key has a sub-rectangular cross section throughout and has a solid shank. The remains of the bow (approximately one quarter of its original size) suggest a simple loop with a little collar at the joint of the loop and the shank. The remains of the bit are similarly chunky but there is too little to determine the shape of the bit itself. The key is broken off before the end of the shank and across the key bit. The whole has an even, thick, pale grey-green patina over its surface.Evidence from excavation seems to suggest that solid shank keys are somewhat later than hollow shank keys. Margeson illustrates a small casket key of broadly similar shape from a context dated to the 13th or early 14th century but the majority of the solid shank keys illustrated are from the 15th or 16th century. Length 23.7mm, width 11.7mm, thickness 5.0mm, weight 4.32gRef: Margeson 'Norwich Households' (pp. 159-163)
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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