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KEY (LOCKING)
Unique ID: BH-2E9CEF
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A medieval copper-alloy rotary key dating the thirteenth or fourteenth century AD.. From the size of the key and the presence of a hollow stem it is likely that the key would have been used to lock a casket. The bow is circular in shape with a circular perforation. It extends to a hollow stem, which is rectangular in plan and sub-rectangular in cross-section. The bit tapers away from the stem making it wedge-shaped. It has two rectangular notches in it, creating a 'T'-shaped tooth. A number of very similar crude and simple rotary keys are shown in Egan (1998, 112), which he dates as from the late 12th - to late 14th centuries. The key measures 34mm in length. The bow has a diameter of 12mm, the stem a width of 5mm and a thickness of 4mm.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1200
Date to: Circa AD 1400
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 34 mm
Width: 5 mm
Thickness: 4 mm
Diameter: 12 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 1st May 2016
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
Region: Eastern (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Cambridgeshire (County)
District: Huntingdonshire (District)
Parish or ward: Denton and Caldecote (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: TL1988
Four figure Latitude: 52.47696429
Four figure longitude: -0.24931133
1:25K map: TL1988
1:10K map: TL18NE
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
No references cited so far.
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Timeline of associated dates
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