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WHETSTONE
Unique ID: HAMP-661272
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
An incomplete whetstone or hone of probable Scandinavian (Norwegian) origin and made of schist.
The whetstone is sub-rectangular in plan and cross-section, with one finished edge and face, both slightly concave in profile, the other edges being smooth but bumpy and unfinished. Both short edges appear broken. Towards one end a 'corner' is cut off. This end has a piercing, central between the cut-off corner and the finished edge, in a wide U-shaped groove. It is countersunk from both faces, measuring c.5.8mm diameter on the outside and c.4mm at the centre. Presumably this was for suspension.
The schist is a brown/ purple in colour and soapy to the touch. It measures 60.83mm in length, 18.93mm wide and 13.89mm thick. It weighs 25.85g.
Notes:
Whetstones or hones of this type were for personal use and were perforated in order to suspend them from a leather belt. Examples are known from Viking York(AY17/14, nos. 9329, 9590) from 9th to 11th century contexts, but the shape and size continues into the medieval period, with examples illustrated from Winchester in Biddle (1990, nos. 3034, 3035) coming from fourteenth century contexts.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Period from: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 800
Date to: Circa AD 1500
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 60.83 mm
Width: 18.93 mm
Thickness: 13.89 mm
Weight: 25.85 g
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: Winchester Museums Entry Form 3812
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Hampshire (County)
District: Test Valley (District)
Parish or ward: Enham Alamein (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SU3649
Four figure Latitude: 51.23905007
Four figure longitude: -1.48569915
1:25K map: SU3649
1:10K map: SU34NE
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biddle, M. | 1990 | Artefacts from Medieval Winchester: Object and Economy in Medieval Winchester | Oxford | Clarendon Press |
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Timeline of associated dates
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