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MEDAL
Unique ID: LANCUM-69FE85
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Unusual lead alloy mount of unknown date and period it appears to be in the form a medal decorated with a swastika. The stamped cross is more consistent with a later Medieval style, suggesting it dates to the 12th to 16th Centuries AD.
The pendant is a mid grey in colour, with an even surface patina.
A direct parallel for this find has not been located at the time of recording.
The swastika, the 'crux gammatica' (a cross formed from 4 Greek capital gamma characters) was widely used long before the Christian period, possibly in pagan religious contexts. It did however continue in use into the early Christian period as a veiled symbol of the Cross (Hattatt; 1987; 222). The length is 50mm, the width is 36mm and the weight 56.87g.
- Hattatt, R., 1987 Brooches of Antiquity: a third selection of brooches from the author's collection Oxford : Oxbow Books, 222-225 , no.1145
Notes:
NB - The form and decoration of the artefact mean that the possibility exists that it was homemade during or after WWII as a child's toy. Suggested date range for this would be c1940 to c1980 AD.
(Alex Whitlock, Find Liaison Officer, Lancs & Cumbs, 2023)
Class: skeuomorphic (swastika)
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: UNKNOWN
Period from: UNKNOWN
Period to: UNKNOWN
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 50 mm
Width: 36 mm
Weight: 56.87 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Wednesday 25th January 2017 - Wednesday 25th January 2017
Personal details
This information is restricted for your access level.
Materials and construction
Primary material: Lead Alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Spatial metadata
Region: North West (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Lancashire (County)
District: Hyndburn (District)
Parish or ward: Rishton (District Ward)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SD7230
Four figure Latitude: 53.76558931
Four figure longitude: -2.42624349
1:25K map: SD7230
1:10K map: SD73SW
Grid reference source: Centred on parish
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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