SPINDLE WHORL

A complete, lead or lead alloy Spindle Whorl of the Roman to Post Medieval period, dating to AD 43 - AD 1650, possibly Medieval, AD 1100 - AD 1500.

The whorl is of the flat disc type and is sub oval in shape. The whorl is undecorated but is slightly concave on the reverse, with a raised border around the edges. There is a sub circular perforation cast off centre. There are no obvious signs of decoration, although below the perforation on the reverse there is a diagonal groove, this could be plough soil damage.

The whorl has an external diameter of 28.5 mm and an internal diameter of 9.8 mm. It has a thickness of 7.4 mm and weighs 25.1 g.

The whorl is a mid brown in colour with an uneven surface patina. Abrasion caused by movement whilst within the plough soil may have resulted in the loss of some of the original surface detail.

Spindle whorls, as an artefact type, can be hard to date accurately as they remained in use for a long period of time. The weight of the spindle whorl is suggestive of a thick wool thread being spun, as there is a direct relationship between the weight of the whorl and the thickness of the resulting thread. Fine threads such as silk require a lighter whorl than those used to spun wool or linen. Other examples have been recorded on the database including WMID-B3DF29, WMID-C7EC3A and WMID-C5D702.