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Description: | A copper alloy square sectioned shaft with a tapered and pointed terminal at each end, possibly a Roman medical implement such as a double ended hook. The shaft is bent, presumably unintentionally, into an L shape, with further smaller kinks and curves. It straight, the shaft would be about 225mm long. Both terminals are lozenge shaped in plan and taper to a point. They are in the same plane as each other. The shaft is 3.3mm wide and 2.7mm thick and is consistently rectangular in section with sharp corners. There is no evidence of wear, and no evidence of stressing suggesting whether the shaft was originally straight or bent. The patina is dark brown with small pieces of dark green.The metal does not appear to be worn or patinated enough to be Roman and a Post Medieval date seems more likely. However, no close parallel for this object has been found. It does have similarities to Roman medical and surgical implements such as the double ended hooks in the Stanway medical kit. However, Roman surgical tools were often circular in section. There are no close parallels on the PAS database. The lack of wear or corrosion means a Post Medieval date is suggested, but the function remains unknown.
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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