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Description: | A cast copper-alloy rotary key of possible Early-Medieval date. The bow is flat, solid and oval in form. Projecting from the top of the bow is an integrally cast suspension loop set at right angles to the plane of the bow and with a central circular aperture. The stem is cylindrical in form, hollow at its tip, and with an incomplete flat, rectangular bit set in line with the plane of the bow. The entie object has a dark brown patina and measures 54.58mm in length, 22.48mm in width (at bow; 6.64mm at stem), 6.33mm in thickness and 15.24g in weight.This is a rotary key similar to several examples recorded through the PAS database, notably SF-DD4282, SF-B40247, KENT-9C0F03, CPAT-DAD880, KENT-4ADCB5, ESS-6715B8, NMS-089E54, and SF-5FA2A5. It is suggested that locking keys of this form date to the later Early-Medieval period, possibly in the 9th-11th centuries AD, although a slightly earlier or later date cannot be ruled out entirely.
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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