BOX

Small box with lid slightly distorted. The lid has lost one of the ends. On e of the ends of the box has the folded sides meeting outside the folded end, while the other end has the sides abutting the folded end.
One of five rectangular lead boxes with lids, each simply, but carefully constructed from two pieces of sheet lead (one piece for the box and one piece for the lid). To construct the boxes the lead was cut into a wide armed cross, the top and bottom were then folded up, before the sides were folded and neatly tucked behind the ends. Of the four larger boxes, two have the sides meet at the ends while the other two just lap behind the folded ends.
The ends of the boxes are relatively straight, while the sides are slightly convex. The tops of the sides appear to fold inwards slightly, although this may be a result of post depositional pressures. The lids are constructed in a similar way, but being shallower, are either simply pinched at the corners, or the sides just overlap the ends. The smaller box has the sides overlapping with the end on only one of the ends, while the other end has the sides merely meeting the folded up end. Each lid fits only the one box.
These enigmatic lead boxes have an uncertain function. It has been suggested that they may have been Late Medieval or Early Post-Medieval home made tobacco boxes (Redknap pers com), although this does not explain why five different size boxes were deposited together near the top of a hill.
The boxes superficially resemble miniature coffins, but there was nothing reported as being found inside the boxes. There is a possibility that an organic substance left in the boxes may have rotted. The only parallel to this practice known to the author would be seventeen miniature wooden coffins left near Arthur's Seat Edinburgh, at the end of the 18th century containing small clothed figures (picture below), possibly associated with a memorial for the victims of Burke and Hare. (Sheridan 2001).