[Bonetools] Tuning pegs and screw threads

[Sonia O'Connor]

Thanks Kordula, I will let Charles know. 

Sonia 

Sent from my iPhone

> On 5 Apr 2019, at 15:26, Kordula Gostencnik <kgosten at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Dear Sonia,
> 
> as our collection of historic musical instruments in Vienna has a
> confernce for restoration going on at the moment, I will pass your
> e-mail on to them; their specialists should be able to identify the
> piece.
> 
> Sincerly
> Kordula Gostencnik
> 
> 2019-03-28 15:36 GMT+01:00, Sonia O'Connor <S.Oconnor at bradford.ac.uk>:
>> Dear all,
>> 
>> I am circulating this object on behalf of Charles Kightly. It was found in
>> St Denys churchyard, York UK. The current mediaeval and Victorian church
>> stands on the foundations of an Anglo-Scandinavian church of around 950AD,
>> below which is a substantial Roman building that has produced a 2nd-3rd
>> century altar. There is no real dating evidence for this piece as it was
>> found in heavily disturbed soil, just below the surface of the churchyard.
>> Other finds in the area ranged from sherds of Parisian ware Roman pottery,
>> 17th century pipe bowls, an 1860s perfume bottle and a 1920s lipstick
>> holder. So there’s a wide range of possibilities.
>> 
>> The object has maximum dimensions of length=42mm, height=22mm, width=6mm and
>> looking at the bone structure (from the photographs) I think it could be
>> cetacean bone.
>> It is described as a ‘Bone decorative fitting fragment, comprising of a
>> decoratively cut sub-square plate with incomplete tubular extension at one
>> end with internal screw thread’. There are only parts of two grooves of the
>> screw thread surviving. It has been interpreted as possibly a tuning peg for
>> a musical instrument and it is suggested that because it has a screw thread
>> that it probably dates from the 19th century onwards.
>> 
>> Charles asks if anyone has seen anything like this, of any period, and for
>> opinions as to whether it would function as a tuning peg. He also points out
>> that hand-cut screw threads are known from at least the 16th century so if
>> this is hand cut the object could be earlier in date.  Has anyone seen
>> examples of bone objects with screw threads earlier than the 19th century?
>> How easy is it to distinguish hand cut from machine cut threads? I’ve seen
>> lathe turning evidence on Roman bone objects and plenty of Victorian
>> composite objects where bone components are joined with screw threads but
>> when does this practice begin?
>> 
>> All the best,
>> 
>> Sonia
>> 
>> 
>> [For WRBG friends who may not know: the]
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dr Sonia O'Connor PhD FSA FIIC ACR Honorary Visiting Fellow, University of
>> York
>> Post-doctoral Researcher
>> Archaeological Sciences
>> Division of AGES
>> University of Bradford
>> Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1DP
>> 
>> Tel 01274 236498
>> 
> 
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