Rights Holder: Suffolk County Council
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COSMETIC MORTAR
Unique ID: SF-CEADF2
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A cast copper-alloy cosmetic mortar of Late Iron Age to Roman date. It has an undecorated crescent shaped bow that is U-shaped in section and with rounded ends. On the interior surface is a central groove that is oval shaped and relatively deeply incised, particularly at its centre. At the centre of the bow is an integral suspension loop that is U-shaped in form and circular in section. The entire object has worn surfaces preserving traces of a dark brown patina but with pitting and copper-alloy corrosion visible on all faces. It measures 69.77mm in length, 15.92mm in width, 25.96mm in thickness (including loop, 11.53mm at bow), has a central groove of approximately 4mm in depth, and weighs 61.76g.
Cosmetic mortars such as this were utilised as part of a two-piece set to grind small quantities of powder and probably had an association with fertility, some having male and female animal head terminals. This example finds parallels in R. Jackson's group of mortars with centre loops and plain terminals (Jackson, 2010: Fig. 22). They appear unique to Britain during the later stages of the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: IRON AGE
Period from: IRON AGE
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 1
Date to: Circa AD 200
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 69.77 mm
Width: 15.92 mm
Thickness: 25.96 mm
Weight: 61.76 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 1st October 2013
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Spatial metadata
Region: Eastern (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Suffolk (County)
District: Mid Suffolk (District)
To be known as: Worlingworth
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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Timeline of associated dates
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