[Bonetools] FW: Mystery bone object

[S O'Connor]

Leigh said I should forward this on.

Sonia 

Dr Sonia O'Connor FSA FIIC ACR
Archaeological Sciences
Division of AGES,  University of Bradford
Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK

tel 01274 23 6498 (office) 5210 (lab)
fax 01274 23 5210


-----Original Message-----
From: Leigh Allen [mailto:leigh.allen at oxfordarch.co.uk] 
Sent: 22 March 2010 14:16
To: S O'Connor
Subject: Re: [Bonetools] Mystery bone object

Dear Sonia, 

Yes, thank you so much for your e-mail it has been most interesting reading the various responses. The diameter of the scoop is c.7cm, there are no indications that the object was lashed to anything something. I too like the idea of a brake I had originally been thinking that it might be something like a foot operated brake for a pole lathe but I cant find any examples. 

Thank you for your help 

Leigh  
----- Original Message -----
From: "S O'Connor" <S.Oconnor at Bradford.ac.uk>
To: "leigh allen" <leigh.allen at oxfordarch.co.uk>
Sent: Monday, 22 March, 2010 13:03:35 GMT +00:00 GMT Britain, Ireland, Portugal
Subject: FW: [Bonetools] Mystery bone object




Dear Leigh, 



Did you get my comments and questions (below)? 



Sonia 




Dr Sonia O'Connor FSA FIIC ACR 

Archaeological Sciences 

Division of AGES, University of Bradford 

Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK 



tel 01274 23 6498 (office) 5210 (lab) 

fax 01274 23 5210 





From: bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu [mailto:bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu] On Behalf Of S O'Connor 
Sent: 19 March 2010 14:02 
To: 'Mailing list for archaeologists of the research group for the study of object and waste of bone, antler. ivory and horn.' 
Cc: leigh.allen at oxfordarch.co.uk 
Subject: Re: [Bonetools] Mystery bone object 



Dear Leigh, 



I don’t think this is a deliberately made scoop or but that it is a component of something more complex. I think this shape has been formed by wear from the bone being held under pressure against a hard rotating object, such as a rod, spindle or axel in a machine. I would guess that when the bone was worn through at one end (the broken end) it was simply turned around and the second ‘scooped’ area was formed. What is the diameter of the circle that has produced this arc? 



You might use a device like this in two ways. 



It could be used to keep a rotating rod located - unlashing the bone would then allow you to remove and or replace the rod. Anyone ever seen anything like this in a wood turning lathe for instance? 



Alternatively it could be used to act as a brake. In this case, by increasing the pressure with which the bone bore on the rod or spindle you could increase frictional drag and reduce the rotational speed of the spindle and, therefore, the speed of the machine you were operating. 



It looks like the end of the bone has some polish from handling which would make me think that the brake idea fits best and that the pressure was applied manually. 



Is there any surface evidence to suggest that the bone had been lashed to something. Can we have any pictures of the other side and the ends? 



All the best, 



Sonia 



Dr Sonia O'Connor FSA FIIC ACR 

Archaeological Sciences 

Division of AGES, University of Bradford 

Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP, UK 



tel 01274 23 6498 (office) 5210 (lab) 

fax 01274 23 5210 




From: bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu [mailto:bonetools-bounces at listserv.niif.hu] On Behalf Of Alice Choyke 
Sent: 19 March 2010 13:23 
To: Mailing list for archaeologists of the research group for the study of object and waste of bone, antler. ivory and horn. 
Subject: Re: [Bonetools] Mystery bone object 



Since Leigh is not on the list you should reply both to her directly and to the list so we can all see what you have to say about Leigh's mystery tools. 

Alice 


On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 3:00 PM, Leigh Allen < leigh.allen at oxfordarch.co.uk > wrote: 

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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