SUNDIAL

An incomplete cast lead or lead alloy sun dial, of Post Medieval dating (17th to 19th Centuries AD).

It consists of a square base, with two corners removed at diagonals and an integrally cast diagonal gnomon, which has since been flattened through soil pressure. Raised diagonal ribs are present, radiating out from the centre of the device to a circular border around the edge. Traces of lettering are present on the circular border, but these are currently illegible. The back is plain and undecorated.

It measures 66.16mm in length, 63.34mm wide and 2.16mm thick. The gnomon is 34.37mm long at the base, and would have stood 25.22mm tall. It weighs 91.6 grams.

John Davis (British Sundial Society) suggests that it could have been a horizontal, possibly portable but more likely to be a 'windowsill" variety of sundial, sometimes accompanying a longcase clock. These tend to be a relatively low-cost devices, tentatively 18th century though with +/- a century. The engravings on the edges could be 'EAST' and 'WEST'. A few of this type are known, althought they are normally a bit larger than yours. In theory, the latitude for which it was designed can be extracted, eg from the angle of the gnomon, or from 'reverse-engineering' the angles of the hour lines.