PAS Review: week ended 2 July 2021
PAS Review: week ended 2 July 2021
A round-up of some of the finds recorded at the PAS for the week ended 2 July 2021. There were 350 finds recorded in this week, including 5 Finds of Note.
Featured Find
Bronze Age Axehead
Photo: Surrey County Council CC BY SA2.0
Object type: Axe
Period: Bronze Age
Primary material: Bronze
Date found: 01/07/2021
Location: Wiltshire
A late Bronze age (c. 1000 – 700 BC) axehead which still has a portion of wood within the socket. The retention of wood within is exceptionally rare, made possible by localised anaerobic conditions in a waterlogged setting. It is probably attributable to the Ewart Park Metalworking Industry, named after a hoard of metalwork found at Ewart Park, Northumberland.
It has been designated a Find of Note: County / local importance
Selection of other finds
Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By 2.0
Cuthred of Kent, penny
This Cuthred of Kent penny has been designated a Find of Note: County/local importance. The reverse reads SIGEBERH giving the moneyer as Sigeberht. It was minted in Canterbury.
Photo: The Portable Antiquities Scheme CC By 2.0
Steelyard weight
A copper-alloy and lead Roman steelyard weigh in the form of a double head. The two faces opposite each other could represent the Roman God Janus. It could also represent a form of impartial guarantee, as the two faces of the weight are watching both parties in the transaction.
Photo: North Lincolnshire Museum CC By SA2.0
Key
As this key is 285mm long and weighs over 500g, it is not thought to have been used to operate a lock. Instead it was either an item of Masonic regalia or a presentation piece. It was found at a depth of 2 metres during excavation for building work.
Photo: Norfolk County Council
Roman or Early Medieval Chain
Copper-alloy chain of uncertain date, but possibly Roman or early-medieval. Some gilding survives within each of the grooves on all of the loops. There are no similar finds recorded on the PAS database.