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Description: | An incomplete cast copper alloy steelyard (scale with beam arms of unequal length), of Roman dating (1st to 2nd Century AD).The steelyard consists of a lozenge sectioned arm with notched calibrations. The calibrations are hard to identify, but there should be two sets, one on the top of the arm and one at the bottom, each set at regular but different spacing. At one end the rod terminates with a domed knop, 11.04 mm in diameter. The other end of the steelyard widens into a sub rectangular terminal, with three suspension holes. One is located at the end of the steelyard and the other two are offset, and located on opposite sides and oppostie ends of the rectangular plates. The internal diameter of the holes is 3.38 mm. The side loops correspond with the two sets of calibration notches. Two square sectioned copper alloy wire loops are still present, one at the end of the steelyard and one on a side loop. The side loop wire loop is incomplete. The one at the end of the steelyard is complete, comprising of three joined elements. First of all, there is a figure of eight wire loop, with the ends of the loop wrapped twice around the centre of the loop. Beneath this is a circular section loop of copper alloy, with a biconvex lead or lead alloy suspension weight present towards the top of the loop. Beneath this is an incomplete circular section copper alloy double hook, formed from one piece of wire with a loop in the centre. One end is incomplete, the other tapers to a blunt point.The steelyard is a mid to dark green colour, with an even surface patina. Abrasion, caused by movement whilst within the ploughsoil, has resulted in a loss of some of the original surface detail, leaving areas of a lighter green colour. These areas should be monitored for signs of active copper corrosion (bronze disease) occurring. This is a bright green powdery residue. To reduce the risk of this happening, the steelyard should be stored in a sealed air tight dry box, such as a tupperware box with a liquid seal, lined with acid free tissue paper and silica gel.The steelyard measures 145.98 mm in length, has a maximum width of 23.54 mm and is 6.29 mm thick. The weight has a diameter of 37.66 mm and is 27.80 mm thick. The side loop is 33.98 mm long, 6.70 mm wide, and 5.93 mm thick. The figure of eight loop measures 69.70 mm in length, has a maximum width of 14.12 mm and is 6.40 mm thick. The loop with the suspension weight measures 53.94 mm in length, 53.92 mm wide and 51.19 mm thick. The suspension hook measures 46.99 mm in length, 44.13 mm wide and 7.41 mm thick. All together it weighs 200.8 g.Three similar steelyards have been recorded on the PAS database as WMID-049777, BUC-6C3DB1 and BERK-AF6F54. A complete steelyard, including balance pan but no weights, was recovered from the Boudican destruction deposits in Colchester and has been published as no. 2508 (Crummy, 1983, p99 and has been dated to the 1st Century AD.Reference:Crummy, N. 1983. The Roman small finds from excavations in Colchester. Colchester Archaeological Report 2. Colchester Archaeological Trust. Colchester.
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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