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Description: | An incomplete Roman rotary key. Unusually, the iron shank and bit of the key survive and it is the copper-alloy handle which is incomplete. The shank is square in section and terminates in an elaborate bit at the locking end. The bit consists of an 'F' shaped projection at the top and a further 'F' shaped projection which emerges from a downard projecting stem at the end of the shaft and which then projects back towards the handle. This section of the bit has a projection at the bottom which is at a right angle to the rest of the bit, projecting towards the holder, when the key is held in plan with the bit end to the left.The copper-alloy handle has a gap in the top which appears as though it may have been deliberate rather than a break, and probably facilitated the insertion of the shank into the handle - the gap then being squeezed together to allow the hollow handle to grip the shank. Ferrous corrosion has leached from the gap on to the body of the handle. The moulded copper-alloy handle is oval in section and consists of two oval collars with a waisted section in between followed by a sub-rectangular collar with a further narrowed section. The three collars are decorated with incised lines. A broken openwork section emerges from the third sub-rectangular collar, with one rectangular projection at the top. It is likely that this end of the key originally terminated in a 'trilobate' handle, similar to that seen in another example of a Roman key recorded on this database as SOMDOR-9B8C55. Other similar keys recorded on the PAS database include: DENO-04A217, Roman key from Whitwell, Derbyshire; ESS-83F497, Roman key from Roxwell, Essex; ESS-E75563, Roman key from Canvey Island. These types of keys are thought to be of post-AD 150 in date. The key measures 84.47 mm long, 38.75 mm wide at the bit, 15.53 mm wide at the remains of the handle, 13.81 mm thick at the handle, 7.4 mm thick at the shank, and it weighs 44 grams. The iron shank and bit suffer from ferrous corrosion whilst the remnants of the copper-alloy handle have a green patina.
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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