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TOY
Unique ID: LVPL-3749F7
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A lead alloy whirligig or buzz wheel. The object is sub-circular in plan with 29 V-shaped peripheral notches of varying sizes. The object has two central holes through which the strings would have been passed. Each perforation measures 4mm in diameter and is regular. Each surface of the object is undecorated and has a light brown patina.
Whirligigs were used as toys in the 17th/18th century and would have comprised of a looped string threaded through the two central holes and held under tension at each end. Alternate pulling and relaxing of the string caused twisting and rapid rotation of the Whirligig. At a critical point the torsion was relaxed by pulling the hands apart and the impingement of the serrated edge on the surrounding air produced a loud buzzing noise, Forsyth and Egan, (2005), p387.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1600
Date to: Circa AD 1750
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Weight: 46.2 g
Diameter: 50 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Saturday 1st February 2014
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Lead Alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Doncaster (Metropolitan District)
District: Doncaster (Metropolitan District)
To be known as: Norton
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forsyth, H. with Egan, G. | 2005 | Toys, Trifles and Trinkets: Base Metal Miniatures from London 1200 to 1800 | London | Unicorn Press Ltd |
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Timeline of associated dates
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