SPINDLE WHORL

A lead Roman to medieval (AD c.43-c.1500) biconical spindle whorl. Overall, the object measures 26.6mm in diameter and 8.2mm thick. It weighs 23.55g. Both sides are decorated with an irregular pattern of raised dots and lines. The central perforation measures 9.5mm in diameter.

Lead weights like these are common finds, but only rarely from excavated contexts which is why date and origin are difficult to pinpoint. Decorated lead-alloy weights are very rare finds in excavations, but are often found by metal detectorists. They are usually biconical or cylindrical in shape and are decorated on both faces with raised dots and radiating lines or zig-zag ribs. They have been found in ploughsoil over the site of Roman buildings, and in an excavated context dating from the 13th to the 15th century at an Austin Friary (Geake 2001). It is thus very difficult to date the decorated lead weights, and it seems that they could have been in use at any time between the Roman and Late Medieval periods. Helen Geake writes: "Dating of lead whorls is difficult. The drop spindle with which they were used continued in use until the end of the medieval period in London and Winchester (Egan 1998, "The Medieval Household: Daily Living c1150 - c1450"; and Biddle, 1990, "Object and Economy in Medieval Winchester"), and for perhaps a century longer in Norfolk (Margeson, 1993, "Norwich Households: Medieval and Post Medieval finds from Norwich Survey Excavations 1971 - 78"). The excavated assemblage from Winchester contains one lead whorl from a mid to late 10th century context." Undecorated spindle whorls can therefore date from the Roman, Early Medieval or Medieval periods. It has been pointed out that the weight of a spindle whorl is suggestive of the thickness of yarn produced, with lighter spindle whorls (3 - 5 grams) being used for spinning cotton and the heavier ones (30 - 35 grams) for spinning wool (Margeson 1993, 184).