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SUNDIAL
Unique ID: DENO-AE2943
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Incomplete and corroded cast copper alloy pocket sundial of Post Medieval date, c.1600-1800. The dial consists of a single cast hoop with two lengthways slots and a grooved channel on the exterior for taking a moveable band which is present but now broken. Traces of the lettering which correspond to months of the year around the outside can still be seen as can traces of thenumbering, corresponding to hours of the day, on the inside of the band.
These sundials are known as simple ring dials or poke dials ('poke' being an archaic word for pocket). The sliding collar would be set into position for the month of the year and, when the dial was suspended vertically, the sun would shine through the hole in the lozenge shaped piece, through the slot, and onto the interior of the ring. The time could then be read by looking at the closest gradation mark to the spot of light on the interior of the ring. Turner states "A cheap dial, it was popular during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries among country people who kept it in their poke, or pocket. Not infrequently they are literally unearthed (Turner 1980: 25).
For a well-preserved example with the separate fittings still in place and a full description of the lettering and usage please see: SOM-E51722.
Class: Pocket
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Period from: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1600
Date to: Circa AD 1800
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Width: 9.95 mm
Thickness: 2.28 mm
Weight: 19 g
Diameter: 52.08 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Saturday 1st January 2011 - Tuesday 31st July 2012
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: Derby E7674
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: East Midlands (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Derbyshire (County)
District: Derbyshire Dales (District)
To be known as: Youlgreave Area
Spatial coordinates
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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Timeline of associated dates
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