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SPATULA

Unique ID: BH-884726

Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow status: Awaiting validation

An incomplete cast copper-alloy spatula - possibly one end of a double-ended instrument - dating to the Roman period (c. AD 100-410). The spatula consists of a flat sub-rectangular shaped plate. One end of the plate is bent upwards. At the other end, the shoulders of the plate narrow and the sides bend upwards towards each other to form a partial flattened cylinder. The upper surface of the plate is plain, but the underside is decorated down the centre with a stamped design of two parallel sets of dots from top to bottom. The entire object has a patchy mid- to dark-green patina. It measures 37mm in length, a maximum of 16mm wide at the flat plate and 8mm diameter at the cylindrical end, while the plate is 1mm thick. The spatula weighs 3.07 grams.

A similarly dated second to fourth century spatula is known from Colchester (Crummy 1983, p. 63, fig. 68, no. 1949).

Subsequent actions

Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder

Chronology

Broad period: ROMAN
Period from: ROMAN
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Circa AD 100
Date to: Circa AD 410

Dimensions and weight

Quantity: 1
Length: 37 mm
Width: 16 mm
Thickness: 1 mm
Weight: 3.07 g
Diameter: 8 mm

Discovery dates

Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 12th August 2018 - Sunday 12th August 2018

Personal details

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Materials and construction

Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Decoration style: Curvilinear
Completeness: Incomplete
Surface Treatment: Stamped

Spatial metadata

Region: East Midlands (European Region)
County or Unitary authority: Northamptonshire (County)
District: East Northamptonshire (District)
Parish or ward: Brigstock (Civil Parish)

Spatial coordinates

4 Figure: SP9482
Four figure Latitude: 52.42791285
Four figure longitude: -0.61895921
1:25K map: SP9482
1:10K map: SP98SW
Grid reference source: GPS (from the finder)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.

References cited

Author	Publication Year	Title	Publication Place	Publisher	Pages	Reference
Crummy, N.	1983	Colchester Archaeological Report 2: The Roman small finds from excavations in Colchester, 1971-9	Colchester	Colchester Archaeological Trust Ltd	p. 63, fig. 68	no. 1949

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Timeline of associated dates

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Audit data

Recording Institution: BH
Created: 5 years ago
Updated: 5 years ago

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