WORKBOX

A fragment of thin copper-alloy sheet, now roughly square (42 x 32.5 x 0.7 mm), with three of its four edges broken. The fragment is curved, and if the curve were extended, it would give a maximum diameter of 120 mm. The upper edge is the only original edge, and this is undecorated; below, the strip is decorated with repoussé dots arranged in pairs. There is a horizontal line of paired dots below the rim, and what is probably a lattice design below this. The dots are convex on the exterior and concave on the reverse. The surface has traces of a dark green patina. At first, the fragment was tentatively identified as a binding strip from a wooden bucket, but the decorative scheme, of a lattice of paired dots, would be unusual on a bucket. It is possible that the fragment is instead part of a late seventh- or early eighth-century workbox, now somewhat flattened. Workboxes are cylindrical vessels made of thin copper-alloy sheet, with matching lids, and they are often decorated with pairs of repoussé dots in a zig-zag or lattice design (e.g. those from King Harry Lane grave 21, or Lechlade grave 14). They are generally found in the graves of women, and often contain pieces of textile and vegetable matter. Some are decorated with crosses, and they may have functioned as early reliquaries. The undecorated rim on this fragment is probably either from the top of the body or the bottom of the lid; here there is no decoration to enable the lid to slide on and off. Workboxes date to the later part of the seventh or the early part of the eighth century. There are three other records of workboxes on the PAS database, LVPL1644, LIN-E32932 and GLO-DA7D75.