|
Date: |
|
Description: | A medieval copper-alloy casket key formed of folded sheet. The sheet was cut and perforated at one end to form the bow and cut at the other end to form a simple bit. The bow is rounded with a circular perforation and two small rounded protrusions at the top and small nicks at the base. Is continues at an angle on the underside of the shank stopping short of the bit. The rolled shank is oval in cross-section and open at the bit end. The bit is formed of symmetrical clefts, two rectangular tabs. This example has a variable mid/dark-green patina.A similar casket key can be found illustrated in Egan (1998, 116; ref. 314), although of all those keys published in this London volume this is only example not to have been cast. Interestingly a far higher proportion of sheet keys were found at the site of Meols on the Wirral coast where they were thought to be local replacement for lost or broken cast examples (Griffiths et al. 2008, 167).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
|