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Description: | A circular cast lead-alloy artefact, probably a spindle whorl of Roman date. The whorl has a flat biconical section, with each cone truncated by the central perforation for attachment. There is a median ridge. The whorl is up to 21.45mm in diameter at its centre, 12.2mm thick, and the circular perforation for attaching to the spindle is up to 7.9mm in diameter, slightly squashed on one face. Part of one of the faces of the whorl is seemingly decorated with incised diagonal incisions which extend to the median ridge, radiating out from the hole. The rest of the artefact appears to be plain.The whorl weighs 25.69g. It has been pointed out that the weight of a spindle whorl is demonstrative of the thickness of yarn produced, with lighter spindle whorls (3-5 grams) being used for spinning cotton and the heavier ones (30-35 grams) for spinning wool (Margeson 1993, 184). It therefore seems plausible that this example was used for spinning wool. The spindle whorl is of an off-white colour. Spindle whorls are difficult to date and those with decoration have been found in both Roman and medieval contexts (Geake 2001, 66). This spindle whorl could therefore date to any time between the Roman and medieval periods, albeit finds discovered in the vicinity would tend to suggest a Roman date as being far more likely. | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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