Rights Holder: Oxfordshire County Council
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SUNDIAL
Unique ID: BERK-F464CB
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A worn cast copper ally sundial dating to the modern period. The sundial plate is circular and plan and made of bronze. On the underside are three square sectioned shanks which would have fitted in to the (probable stone) pedistal base. The face of the sundial has the hours of the day in Roman numerals around the outside with the motto 'Sunny Hours' at the base between the numerals. In the centre of the dial are two facing mythical birds, possibly phoenixes above an eight armed sun with the points of the compass around it. There are two thick heavy rivets which would have secured the missing gnomon in place. This sundial appears to copy earlier, 19th century examples, many of which include an earlier date on the dial. However this example is probably a mass-produced copy of such dials. Exact copies of the sundial recorded here can be found in online antique and auction shops, where they are said to date from the first half of the 20th century. With these comparisons and the style of design and maufacture, this example is likely to date to the same period.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MODERN
Period from: MODERN
Period to: MODERN
Date from: Circa AD 1900
Date to: Exactly AD 1950
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Height: 13.5 mm
Thickness: 2.8 mm
Weight: 378 g
Diameter: 149 mm
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: OXPAS2016.423
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Decoration style: Zoomorphic
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Oxfordshire (County)
District: West Oxfordshire (District)
Parish or ward: Eynsham (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SP4108
Four figure Latitude: 51.76918158
Four figure longitude: -1.40724037
1:25K map: SP4108
1:10K map: SP40NW
Grid reference source: Centred on field
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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Timeline of associated dates
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