Introduction There is an enigmatic group of objects which look like enormous lace-tags, made of sheet metal with a soldered-on collar near the terminal which is often decorated to resemble the cup of an acorn. They tend to be about 5 mm in diameter at the attachment end, and can feature side loops for attaching …more
Category: Craft and Food
Forks
Introduction In England, people mostly ate using knives, fingers and spoons prior to the post-medieval period (Leahy and Lewis 2018, 180). Consequently, the PAS has not recorded many table forks; the majority are iron from the 17th century onwards, although a few copper-alloy early-medieval forks have been recorded. Post-medieval table forks had two prongs initially, …more
Ceramics (including the Pottery Guide)
The PAS has produced a guide to the recording of pottery vessels which can be downloaded as a pdf here: PAS Pottery Recording Guide. Other ceramic items (clay pipes, ceramic lamps and moulds, kiln furniture and so on) are briefly noted towards the end of the Pottery Recording Guide, with recommendations as to the object …more
Spindle Whorls
Introduction Spindle whorls are perforated weights from wooden drop spindles. Their weight helped give the spindle momentum in the twisting, or spinning, of fibres into yarn, for later making into textiles. Various materials were used for spindle whorls: stone (various, often local, types), shale, ceramic (baked clay, reused vessel sherds), animal skeletal material (bone, antler), wood, and …more
Needles (2001 guide)
Please note that this guide has not been fundamentally changed from the original print version of the Finds Recording Guide (Geake 2001), written when the database contained just 8,800 non-numismatic records. Introduction Like sewing pins and lace-tags, these slender objects do not survive well in ploughsoil. Their head ends can be recognised because the long …more
Bells
A bell is a hollow object, which can be spherical, conical or of various domed shapes. It can be sounded by an internal clapper, an external hammer or (for spherical bells) an internal pellet or pea.
Lead Seals (Other than Cloth Seals) (2001 guide)
Please note that this guide has not been fundamentally changed from the original print version of the Finds Recording Guide (Geake 2001), written when the database contained just 8,800 non-numismatic records. Introduction This guide covers small multi-functional lead seals used to close bags of seed or fertilizer (including guano), Russian examples for flax bales (Sullivan …more
Thimbles
Introduction A thimble is an object used to protect the finger and push the needle through the fabric or leather when sewing. The earliest known use of the word is 15th century, but the word is Old English in origin, and related to the word for thumb. The main division in thimbles is between the …more
