KEY (LOCKING)

Early medieval (Anglo-Saxon/Anglo-Scandinavian) copper alloy key, 31.5mm long, 16mm wide, 5mm thick, with a weight of 3.83grams. The key is incomplete, missing its loop and the lower half of its rectangular bit. It consists of a short sub rectangular cross sectioned shaft which is damaged in the centre. The shaft has a ridge running down the centre of each side, which terminates at each end into a triangular projection. At one end this projection runs over the remains of a circular shaped loop, which has slight collar like projections where it joins the shaft. On one side of the shaft this triangular projection is almost flat, merging into the surface and behind it there is a hint of a collar where the shaft changes from ridged to flat. On the opposite side the triangular projection is raised above the surface and there is a much more pronounced collar. At the other end the projection is raised on both sides and does not have any collar behind it. Emerging from the shaft is a fragmenatry rectangular shaped and cross sectioned bit. This consists of a rectangular 'loop' which contains the remains of two rectangular teeth which are probably intact.

The key is very similar to LVPL-3C07ED and IOW-558551 which are complete, but these examples have plain shafts. Slide keys of a similar date, do however have triangular projections on their shafts at one end, see SF-685597 and IOW-F44267 so this key appears to combine elements of both types and may be a development. All these examples are dated 900-1100.

These slide keys are generally known as 'Viking keys' due to similarities in shape with excavated examples, however the T-shaped projections at the base of the bit remain unusual and no direct excavated parallels have been identified. This group of keys are tentatively dated to the 10th or 11th centuries AD (c. 900-c. 1100 AD) and with possible Anglo-Scandinavian influence, although it should be noted that this date range may be prone to adjustment through the recovery of examples from datable contexts.