[Bonetools] Mystery bone object

[Leigh Allen]

Dear All, 

I am new to this site, so let me briefly introduce myself. I am the Finds manager at Oxford Archaeology and have been for the last 20 years !! I also write reports on Medieval/Post Medieval metalwork and worked bone objects. I have an object from a site that we excavated in Winchester that I would like to ask you about (see attached photos). It is from a rubble later dated anywhare from 5th-13th century !  

The cattle metacarpal has a large scoop taken out of the proximal end, the surface is perfectly smooth and very heavily polished but the rest of the bone is not. At the distal end, which is damaged, another scoop has been removed but it is not smoothed or polished to the same degree. Striations in the polished surfaces indicate a longitudinal direction of wear. The wear is so great and so regular it would almost imply that it was machine made.

Any help would be most gratefully received 

Kind regards 

Leigh Allen    


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