[Bonetools] Strange cattle bones with carved holes

[Alice Choyke]

Are the holes worn or does it look  they were gorged out and filled (for
example with lead to weight the bone as is done with cattle phalanges in
this time period). Whatever they turn out to be they are rather lovely!

Alice

On Fri, Nov 21, 2014 at 3:44 PM, Johnny Karlsson <johnny.karlsson at ofl.su.se>
wrote:

>  Dear all,
>
> I hope you can help me with some odd bone objects from medieval Sigtuna
> in Sweden.
>
> During a research on medieval bone skates from the town, I and a colleague
> came across some bones that seem to have another function at least primary.
> It is only metacarpal bones from cattle and they have two holes at the
> proximal joint, see photo. The holes are uneven and look carved rather than
> drilled. Usually the holes reach the medullar cavity. In two cases it is
> evident that the bones secondary have been used as skates, in two other
> cases they exhibit transverse striations on the diaphysis (see photo).
> But the majority of them show no sign of use at all except these two
> proximal holes. We identified about twenty of them from one particular
> trench in layers dating to the 12th century, but they do appear in
> smaller numbers in other parts of town.
>
> Has anyone of you seen something similar? Does anyone know their function?
>
> Thank you in advance,
> Johnny Karlsson
>
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