KEY (LOCKING)

A worn cast copper-alloy key dating to the Roman period. Working from one end of the key to the other, the object consists of bow, pedestal, stem and, at the end of the stem on the underside, the bit. Typically the body of such a Roman key is perpendicular to the bit (Mills 2000, 82); old damage has meant that the bit has been bent slightly out of this alignment. The bow is in the form of a circle truncated by the pedestal. This rounded end has a bevelled outer edge. On the reverse it is flat and undecorated; this is also true of the adjoining pedestal and the stem. The bow features a 'mushroom-shaped' aperture, with 'stem' of the mushroom adjacent to the pedestal. The bow is 12.8mm long. The bow and pedestal are divided on the obverse (although not on the reverse as alluded above) by a raised tranverse line, slightly wider than the bow. The pedestal tapers from a width of 8.8mm to a width of 6.7mm. The pedestal is 8.1mm long. A second raised line, again slightly wider than the pedestal, divides stem from pedestal on the obverse. The stem is seemingly hollow and of sub-circular section; it shares a flat base with the other elements. The stem is 10.1mm long. There is a cleft between stem and bit at the front end. Clefts also divide the end of the bit into three. The key has an orange-brown patina but features flecks of light green corrosion, particularly on the bit. Recent abrasions have revealed some shiny orange metal through the patina. In form the key is similar to an illustration of a generic Roman lever lock key which can be found in Mills (2000, 80).