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Description: | A cast, copper alloy artefact, probably a Post Medieval dress fastener or toggle dating from about AD 1600 - 1800. The date and function of objects of this form is debated, being either a Late Iron Age or Roman cosmetic pestle, or a Post Medieval clothing fastener toggle.It consists of a rounded body in the shape of a pointed oval, from one side of which extends a short, circular shaft ending in a pair of rings positioned side by side. A casting seam is visible along the length of the solid body on the face opposite the shaft. The pestle has a dark brown patina. It is 25.8mm long, 19.2mm wide and 8.2mm thick. It weighs 6.53gm.This object is one of a group of artefacts which were originally identified by Ralph Jackson and Sally Worrell as cosmetic pestles, dating from the late Iron Age or early Roman period, AD 100 - 200. However, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that at least some of these items are in fact clothing fasteners; toggles similar to those on a duffle coat. One piece of evidence is the distribution of PAS examples, which differ from the distribution of cosmetic sets. See the discussion on page 6 of Jackson (2010) Cosmetic Sets of Late Iron Age and Roman Britain, and compare number 513 and 593.This example is more likely to be a toggle because it has a clear casting seam on what would be the grinding face if it was a pestle. It is argued that use as a pestle would have smoothed the casting seam, which on this example is still raised. The counter-arguement is that this is a pestle which was lost before it was used much, thus the seam had little opportunity to become worn. The date of these toggles is still unknown as none have been found in dated contexts. Following SF-332DF0, this example is suggested to be Post Medieval, about AD 1600 - 1800.There are many examples on the PAS Database; compare for example, SWYOR-E137B1, KENT-A72BF2, DENO-D53724, WMID-083DF2 and SWYOR-674821.
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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