Accession No

1883.834


Description

Bone skate made from a horse metacarpal. Obverse has gashes throughout surface. Reverse is highly polished in a wide strip. Proximal end is slightly sharpened into a point. The other end is broken off and missing.


Place

Europe; British Isles; England; London; Lime Street


Period

?Anglo Saxon ?Medieval ?Post Medieval


Source

Cambridge Antiquarian Society [donor]


Department

Arch


Reference Numbers

1883.834; 94b


Cultural Affliation


Material

Bone


Local Term


Measurements

210mm


Events

Description (Labels & Markings)
Handwritten label on base reads: 'A 83.C.A.M.834 Bone skate Lime St., London 1881'. A second handwritten label, in a different and presumably earlier hand, reads: 'Lime Street 1881' and in a later hand 'A.83 CAM.833'. A square printed label is affixed to object, reading: '94' and in pencil 'b'.
Event Date
Author: Imogen Gunn


Description (Physical description)
Bone skate.
Event Date
Author: maa


Context (Field collection)
Collected in 1881.
Event Date 1881
Author: maa


Context (Amendments / updates)
Bone skates made from horse metacarpals were common in the late Saxon and medieval periods, and continued to be in use until as late as the early 20th century in some areas of England. As this example is unstratified, the Period field has been amended to include 'Anglo-Saxon' and 'Medieval' as well as the original 'Post Medieval'. For more details, see: MacGregor, A. 1976. ‘Bone Skates: A Review of the Evidence’. Archaeological Journal 133, pp. 57-74.
Event Date 11/2/2016
Author: Imogen Gunn (admin)


Description (Physical description)
Bone skate made from a horse metacarpal. Obverse has gashes throughout surface. Reverse is highly polished in a wide strip. Proximal end is slightly sharpened into a point. The other end is broken off and missing.
Event Date 8/2/2024
Author: Jodi Zhang


FM:45181

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