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Description: | Cast copper alloy stylus or brooch pin with a flattened spatulate bifid terminal above a collar defined by two parallel grooves, tapering to a point at the other end. The shaft of the implement is circular in section, but tapers to a triangular shape at the point, which must have been hammered into a metal form of the same shape by hand and not machine. The pointed end was used for writing in wax tablets and the flat bifid end was used to scrape off or smooth the wax when a mistake was made. The recorder feels that the bifid end is not typical of the above spatulate ends, but it is also not typical of those looped hinges attached to rings as a ring pin or as a pin for a large annular brooch, and there is no evidence that this end was ever bent over. The closest comparanda that can be found are iron and lead styli illustrated in Ottaway and Rogers (2002) on page 2935, Fig.1502, which are dated from the 14th to the 15th century.The bifid end may alternatively been used as a nail cleaner or toothpick as are similar ends on toiletry implements illustated in Egan & Pritchard (2002) on page 378, Fig.251, No.3753, and in Egan, Griffiths & Philpott (2007) on page 164, Plate 30, No.2015, which are dated to the later Medieval period. The opposite end might have been used as a probe of some sort but the recorder is not convinced of this due to its size and the fact that it has no means of suspension or attachment to a toiletry set.
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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