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KNIFE

Unique ID: ESS-D72594

Object type certainty: Probably
Workflow status: Published

Fragment of bone object, probably a knife handle. This fragment is sub-rectangular in plan with a portion missing so that it has one L-shaped end. It is sub-oval in section. One face is damaged and has lost its original smooth surface, now being abraded and cracked. The other face has lost half of its original surface and is abraded, but half survives intact with decoration. The decoration consists of two carved diagonal lines that appear to form a V shape, though the pointed end would have been on the damaged portion. Between the lines are three ring and dots, with a single ring and dot visible outside each line. It is likely that this pattern is repreated along the object. The break edges are irregular and abraded but smooth, suggesting the damage occurred in antiquity. The cream/grey object has a surviving length of 47.78mm, is 25.56mm wide, 12.36mm thick and weighs 15.19g. The ring and dot motif was used throughout both the Roman and Anglo Saxon periods as were bone handles, therefore it is difficult to give a precise date.

Class: Handle

Subsequent actions

Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder

Chronology

Broad period: ROMAN
Period from: ROMAN
Period to: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 43
Date to: Circa AD 1066

Dimensions and weight

Quantity: 1
Length: 47.78 mm
Width: 25.56 mm
Thickness: 12.36 mm
Weight: 15.19 g

Personal details

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Materials and construction

Primary material: Animal skeletal material
Completeness: Fragment

Spatial metadata

Region: Eastern (European Region)
County or Unitary authority: Essex (County)
District: Castle Point (District)
To be known as: Canvey Island

Spatial coordinates

Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.

Discovery metadata

Method of discovery: Other chance find
Discovery circumstances: Part of a collection discovered over some 30 years
General landuse: Coastland
Specific landuse: Inter-tidal

References cited

No references cited so far.

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Timeline of associated dates

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Audit data

Recording Institution: ESS
Created: 19 years ago
Updated: 13 years ago

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