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Description: | A sandstone disc of unknown age and function, possibly Post Medieval. The stone is fine grained and speckled with mica. The faces are almost flat, making use of the natural banding in the stone. The edges have been chipped and ground to make the disc circular. It is 58.6mm diameter, 21.9mm thick and 98g.There are similar published examples in Roman Castleford (1998, Cool and Philo) which are interpreted as counters for board games, even given the large size of some, comparable to this example (up to 80mm diameter). Cool and Philo draw comparisons with ceramic and stone discs discussed in Crummy 1983, page 93. Use as pot lids is suggested to be unlikely as vessels found complete with lids do not have ceramic or stone disc lids. Use as trivets for hot cooking pots is also suggested, as is use as reckoning counters, but Crummy suggests that the most likely use is as game counters, perhaps for a game with the board drawn on the floor rather than played on a board, thus explaining the large size of some of the counters.Similar discs can also be seen in the Musuem Collection of the Museum of Lancashire, and images of these are attached to record LANCUM-DCBBF5. The LANCUM records suggest that they may have been used in a local game involving stone rolling. This sounds similar to "Irish" Road Bowling, but spherical iron balls are used for this sport. A variety known as 'potshare bowling' was enjoyed in the North East with home made stone spherical balls; see The Tyne and Wear Museums blog:http://www.twmuseums.org.uk/engage/blog/potshare-bowling-an-almost-forgotten-sport-of-north-east-england/ and LANCUM-5A2753, but no published evidence of discs used for rolling games has yet been put forward.Anthony Pilling has posited a possible use, related to hand looms, as a weighted core for winding balls of yarn around them as part of a crude creel for making a warp. See LANCUM-D53456 for more details.Brian Howcroft has suggested that the stones were used as a form of weight used in the Post Medieval period, noting that many seem to be found in the same areas a Post medieval pottery. He comments that "There is a knapped edge on all the stones that could be used as a finger grip or to remove stone to correct the weight of each individual stone. This could be a cheap alternative to iron weights?". Use as weights may be problematic since there are no standard sizes nor masses, though a larger sample would be needed to to sure.Brian Howcroft also consulted John Bowen who suggested that pairs of stone discs can be used as arrow straighteners or smoothers. This is based on his experience of bushcraft. He explains the technique: "Knap two stones into a roughly round shapes of equal size. Ensure that on each stone there is at least one relatively flat surface. The two flat surfaces are placed together. The would-be arrowshaft to be straightened or smoothed is placed in between these two flat surfaces. The stones are then tied with cordage with the twig in between. You then grab the two stones with one hand (hence the kneed to knap into a round shape ) then move the stone sandwich up and down the twig to either straighten or smooth. This is not a particularly industrial process so it leaves little sign of use-wear on either of the flat surfaces." He also added that "Arrowshafts were being made in prehistoric, Roman and medieval times".Though these discs (which vary in size) are often found in the same area as prehistoric flint tools. They are also found in places where Post Medieval pottery is found. Both these correlations may be the result of collection bias and/or the collection of many finds (potentially of different dates) into one area, perhaps by the action of water currents or post-depositional disturbance.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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