Rights Holder: Sussex Archaeological Society
CC License: 
Image use policy
Our images can be used under a CC BY attribution licence (unless stated otherwise).
KEY (LOCKING)
Unique ID: SUSS-965995
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Medieval cast copper-alloy rotary key for a small lock, probably on a casket. The key has a flat circular bow with a large perforation. There is a double collar moulding at the junction of bow and shank; the moulding nearer the shank is slightly thicker and narrower. The shank has a cross-section of a rectangle with rounded corners with a smaller circular sectioned terminal protruding beyond the bit. The bit is rectangular with large cut out clefts in the upper section. There are two rounded knops on the lower side of the shank flanking the bit and aligned with the wide points of the lower part of the bit. The key has a well developed green patina with some patches of off-white corrosion product. The bow has been bent slightly out of alignment. The artefact is 36.1mm long, the bow is 10.5mm wide by 2.5mm thick, the shaft 3.7mm by 3.5mm and the bit 11.2mm by 6.5 by 1.9mm; it weighs 3.44 grams.
A similar, but slightly cruder, casket key can be found illustrated in Read (2001: 71, No. 539).
Notes:
In "The Medieval Household, Daily Living c.1150-c.1450", Egan (1998, p111) comments that small, crude keys with circular bows and mainly very simple bits was a long-lasting form, from at least the late 12th to the late 14th century. He suggests that these sometimes almost rudimentary keys may have been for locks on caskets (ibid.).
Class:
rotary
Sub class: casket
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1175
Date to: Circa AD 1400
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 36.1 mm
Width: 14.4 mm
Thickness: 4.45 mm
Weight: 3.44 g
Personal details
This information is restricted for your access level.
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: West Sussex (County)
District: Arun (District)
To be known as: Houghton
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Egan, G. | 1998 | The Medieval Household: Daily Living c.1150-c.1450 (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London) | London | The Stationery Office | 111 | ||
| Read, B. | 2001 | Metal artefacts of antiquity: A catalogue of small finds from specific areas of the United Kingdom | Langport | Portcullis Publishing | 71 | 539 |
Similar objects
Find number: PUBLIC-277992
Object type: KEY (LOCKING)
Broadperiod: MEDIEVAL
Medieval cast copper-alloy rotary key for a small lock, probably on a casket. The key has an oval bow with a circular hole through it, a sh…
Workflow: Awaiting validation
Find number: SUSS-A13A03
Object type: KEY (LOCKING)
Broadperiod: MEDIEVAL
Medieval cast copper-alloy rotary key for a small lock, probably on a casket. The key has an oval bow with a central perforation, a shank with…
Workflow: Awaiting validation
Find number: SUSS-0A8154
Object type: KEY (LOCKING)
Broadperiod: MEDIEVAL
Medieval cast copper-alloy rotary key for a small lock, probably on a casket. The key has a flat oval bow with a small, off centre perforat…
Workflow: Awaiting validation
Timeline of associated dates
About Us
About our Site
Find us
The British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG.
T: +44(0) 20 73238618