VESSEL

A Medieval or Post Medieval (12th to mid 19th century) cooking vessel leg: The foot is a 'hoof' type. In plan it is a sub-rectangle, with a rounded lower edge and broken upper edge. The break is not recent. In profile the reverse of the leg is straight and in section it is sub-crescentic. The lower portion of the front face is rounded decorated with three wide vertical ribs. There is a transverse collar in the form of a ridge above this decoration. The surface is abraded and has a mottled mid green coloured patina. There are traces of a black carbon deposit. The leg measures 43.13mm tall, 24.87mm wide across the leg and 13.18mm thick. It weighs 50.8g.

It is uncertain what type of vessel this leg comes from, but Egan (1998) comments that commonly used cooking vessels in the Medieval period include skillets, ewers, and cauldrons. According to Butler, Green and Payne (2009), "From about AD 1100, cast copper alloy vessels...were commonly used for downhearth cooking, with the vessel sitting among the embers or suspended over the fire. All but the poorest medieval or post-medieval households would have had at least one metal cooking vessel....These vessels gradually passed out of use between 1700 and 1850, superseded by cast iron pots...".

Butler, R., Green, C. and Payne, N. 2009 'Cast copper-alloy cooking vessels' Finds Research Group AD700-1700 Datasheet 41

Egan G. 1998 The Medieval Household Daily Living c. 1150-c.1450 Museum of London, London, The Stationary Office