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Description: | Incomplete cast copper alloy night latch or slide key, missing the internal bars in the bit which would have turned the lock. The key is complete and in a very good condition. It is slightly bent, probably from use on a heavy latch. The handle or bow is oval-shaped with a slightly expanded inner edge opposite the shank. The bow narrows into the shank which is round in section at this point. The shank or stem has three concentric parallel mouldings along its length, before it meets the bit at right angles, where it is square in section. The bit is shield-shaped with indented rectangular recesses half way along each internal edge, and two projections on one side which would have been mirrored by two projections on the opposite side and possibly bent into a 'L' shape as seen in LANCUM-9C5462, or straight, but not meeting in the middle as in LANCUM-01DC94. Night latch or slide keys have been known since the Roman time and there are numeous examples from the medieval and post-medieval period. This example, from its style of bow and shank, dates from the 19th century.The bow is 22 mm long and 22 mm wide; the shank is 16 mm long and 9 mm in diameter, and the bit is 28 mm long, 23 mm wide and 4 mm thick.
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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