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Description: | A worn and very corroded and pitted fragment of a cast copper-alloy key of Medieval date probably dating to the c. 13th-14th century AD. The fragment is formed of circular shank, and a complex asymmetrical bit with asymmetrical wards. The circular shank is hollow, and worn more substantially on one side than the other. The bit is composed of two separate wards; one is largely sub-rectangular and two small extensions project from the body of the ward, which have broken short of the intended length. In profile this component appears almost 'S' shaped. The secondary ward is formed of a single vertical extension, with a secondary shorter vertical extension from a horizontal bar. Two separate grooved clefts are visible on both ward components, one on either side of the bit, with a groove on the underside. This key has a dark red-brown colour and bears a very notable resemblance to a key illustrated in Egan (1998: 113-115, no. 313, fig. 88) which was noted as being of a very complex form, and that was dated by context to c. AD 1270-1350.
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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