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Description: | An incomplete cast copper-alloy folding balance of probable Medieval date. It is missing the terminal end of one arm and the scale pans due to old breaks. The centre of the balance is formed from two flattened trapezoidal plates held together at their centre by a separately cast flat, triangular pointer that projects upwards and is riveted through both plates with a single central cylindrical rivet. The pointer has a central rivet hole at its base through which passes a cylindrical copper-alloy rivet that holds in place a separately cast suspension loop. This is U-shaped in form with flattened rectangular terminals at the pointed end, expanding to a trapezoidal loop that is set at an angle of 90 degrees to the plane of the terminals and has a central circular aperture. The loop would originally have hinged around and above the pointer, but due to post-depositional damage now hangs from the base of the bar. At each end of the central plates hinge separately cast copper-alloy arms, held in place between the two plates by a single cylindrical rivet with flattened round heads. They are flat, rectangular in form and both arms have flattened triangular terminals at the plate end to enable them to slot neatly between the two plates. Both arms taper towards the terminal end, one arm terminating in old breaks beneath the terminal the other surviving intact. The complete terminal has a sub-oval shaped terminal with flattened ends, incised diagonal grooves at the plate end, and two narrow waists separated by a deep circumferential groove at the centre. The terminal loop is flat, semi-circular in form with a central circular aperture. Both arms are currently folded to an angle of approximately 45 degrees each. The entire object measures 68.16mm in width (folded), 54.23mm in height/length (folded), 2.95mm in thickness (at central plate) and weighs 9.77g.This is an incomplete cast copper-alloy balance that would have been used for the accurate weighing of objects such as coins or jewels. It finds parallels in examples published from London (Egan, 1998: fig. 240, no. 1055) and is of probable Medieval date, c.13th-15th centuries AD.
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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