This year the LAARC (London Archaeological Archive & Research Centre) marks its 10^th anniversary. To celebrate our achievement of promoting London’s archaeology and making our collections publicly accessible we’re in residence at the Museum of London’s galleries. You can even join in yourself and assist us in improving our collections by getting your Hands-On real Archaeology.

Although the Archive holds a wealth of information from maps, drawings, digital data, context sheets to photographs, it is perhaps archaeology – the ‘stuff’ – filling over 200,000 archive boxes that we are all instantly drawn to. Our ‘general finds’ are the bread and butter of archaeology but for the most part it is our ‘registered finds’ that are intrinsically interesting.

For several years my colleague Adam has been blogging about these noteworthy objects that lie dormant in the Archive waiting to be researched, audited by a volunteer or even make it into a Museum of London gallery display.

Over the next year I’ll be presenting you with ten archaeological objects. Ten objects that emphasise the importance of London’s archaeology in shaping, or even reshaping, our understanding of the City’s history. I have literally over millions of artefacts to choose from, but this won’t be a display of the shiniest or most well-known. My selections may be representative of, or even unique to, an historical period. They may acknowledge the science of how these objects are discovered and how they survive London’s chthonic depths over millennia.

Like all good history we’ll start at ‘the beginning’:

Object 1

Prehistoric (Upper Palaeolithic) Leaf-point Flint Blade 

The first of our objects is a flint blade (not so interesting you may think…). Dredged from the Thames at Longreach (opposite Purfleet) in April 1905, it came to us via the late Geoffrey Gillam of Enfield. This is a classic example of a museum object that has lain dormant; its significance waiting to be unlocked, for this prehistoric flint may actually be the earliest example of an artefact crafted by a ‘Londoner’ in the Museum’s collection.

Our first Londoner in this instance would be a modern human, that is, homo sapiens sapiens. It was during the Upper Palaeolithic, about 40, 000 years ago, that modern humans developed blade technology (our predecessors, Neanderthals, perhaps being commonly associated with flake technology produced hand-axes) resulting in a huge range of stone artefacts being crafted. At the same time scholars have also argued about the inherent aestheticism of these objects – and we may even be looking at London’s earliest ‘work of art’! Lithics expert, Jon Cotton, ‘re-discovered’ this object with colleagues and they will hopefully be publishing it in the near future.

Next month object number 2 – where we’ll skip past a few millennia (and a lot more flints) to the Iron Age…

The Final Four

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to vote for their favourite objects during he course of this week. Each day you’ve been voting in your droves and have narrowed the original 16 objects down to just 4. Are you ready for one last vote. It’s time for

THE GRAND FINAL

On Monday you chose the Squirrel Token excavated in 1979 at Newgate Street and audited by Wednesday volunteer Alan during week 2. This copper token depicts a squirrel eating a nut surrounded by fleurs-de-lis. Such depictions have also been found on seal matrices with the legend ‘I CRAKE NOTIS’ – ‘I crack nuts’ – referring to the breaking of the seal. This token may relate to the furrier trade, squirrel pelts being in huge demand in the medieval period. The tale of Cinderella may  have involved her losing a squirrel fur-lined-slipper as opposed to a glass slipper, the pronunciation of vair (meaning fur) and verre (meaning glass) in old French being identical!

On Tuesday the winner was the medieval purse. The ‘medieval’ style of wearing a purse was for it to be hung from the waist, attaching to a belt or girdle. Later types would thread through the belt as an anti-bandit mechanism. This one was excavated from the medieval waterfront at Vintry, hence its fantastic survival condition. It was found alongside dress fittings, trade seals, metalworking waste and coins…but none were found in the actual purse! It was audited by Wednesday volunteer Hannah during week 7

Wednesday’s winner was excavated at Rectory Grove in 1980 and was audited during week 9 by Friday volunteer, Mary. This is a rare, late 17th Century ‘bird pot’ designed to be hung on the side of a building for nesting sparrows. A hole at the back of the pot, known as a ‘robbery hole’, allowed access to the sparrow eggs or indeed fledgling sparrows themselves. The LAARC holds only 61 examples and they are a London phenomenon to Britain. Their discovery in relation with wealthy households has led to an interpretation of them as supplying live sparrows for hawking – a privileged pastime. However, sparrows were also used as a dietary supplement by the poorer classes, which questions their context…sparrow pie anyone?

And the last finalist you opted for were these rare examples of Roman sandal rosettes from 1990’s Bull Wharf investigations. The Y-shaped sandal strap would be secured between the toes with a leather peg holding the functional rosette piece – hence the two slits. The additional rosette piece would have been appliquéd to the top and is purely decorative. It is interesting that such detail has been applied to such a small piece of leather. This footwear fashion was popular across the empire (especially Egypt) with examples having been found at military sites including Vindolanda (Hadrian’s Wall), Germany and Switzerland. They were audited by Monday volunteer John O C during week 7.

Only one can win and it’s up to you to help pick the best of the best. If you don’t play, you don’t get a say! For the Grand Final, voting will stay open for 6 days until noon on Wednesday 14th Dec. Plenty of time to tell your friends to take a look and see if they fancy the same one as you. And should you fancy, you can always leave a comment saying why you made your choice by clicking on the title of  this blog in the right hand navigation panel and leaving a comment a the bottom of the blog.

To cast your vote, click on the word VOTE! below:

VOTE!

Voting has now closed.

Big thanks to everyone who has taken the time to play along – we’ve hoped you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have. Huge thanks to my colleague Glynn for the photos and captions. And a massive thanks to all the VIP9 volunteers whose hard work helped us rediscover these fantastic objects!

4th Time Round

And so we come to the last of our daily competitions to determine the best object from our ninth Volunteer Inclusion Project based at the Museum of London’s Archaeological Archive & Research Centre.

On Monday you chose the Squirrel Token as the first daily winner and then selected the Leather Purse as Tuesday’s victor. Yesterday you decided that the best object was…

THE BIRD POT!

There’s only one more space left in tomorrow’s Grand Final. Which one will you go for today?

We kick off with an object from week8. Audited by Monday volunteer John W, this is a 17^th Century copper-alloy coin weight, specifically dating to 1612 – 1632 during the reign of king James I. Coin weights were produced to check the weight and quality of coins in circulation – forgery being as great then as it is now. This square type of coin weight (as opposed to round) was introduced at the beginning of the 16^th Century with the addition of the coin value in Shillings (S) and Pence (D). This weight marks twenty-two (XXII) shillings, equivalent to the gold coin known as a unite that was minted at the Tower of London. This object however was originally discovered at Albert Embankment excavations in 1980

Next we’ve a silver Edwardian hatpin originally dug up in 1979 at Wall Garden Farm, but rediscovered during week 6 by Tuesday volunteer Jon. The long pin is actually missing, which led to the object being erroneously interpreted as a ‘mount’. The reverse of the pin has the hall mark ‘P&T’, in addition to three hall marks of an anchor, lion and the Roman numeral ‘I’. This identifies the makers as Pearce & Thompson of Birmingham. Hatpins remained a standard accessory for women throughout the Edwardian period. Unfortunately we have no additional context for this particular pin as it’s unstratified – perhaps accidentally lost by the owner one windy day.

Third up are these rare examples of Roman sandal rosettes from 1990’s Bull Wharf investigations. The Y-shaped sandal strap would be secured between the toes with a leather peg holding the functional rosette piece – hence the two slits. The additional rosette piece would have been appliquéd to the top and is purely decorative. It is interesting that such detail has been applied to such a small piece of leather. This footwear fashion was popular across the empire (especially Egypt) with examples having been found at military sites including Vindolanda (Hadrian’s Wall), Germany and Switzerland. They were audited by Monday volunteer John O C during week 7.

And the final object is the decorated glass head of a mid 18^th Century bird feeder, for caged birds. The tricorn hat may indicate the Duke of Marlborough – a well known soldier and statesman of the time. The head would have faced outward from the cage, so to quote a report on this object: “the anthropomorphism of the feeders was not for the delectation of the pet, but of the owner”! The object was found in a brick-lined pit from the Crosswall in City of London and the contents of its domestic rubbish included the bone of a linnet (song-bird) – perhaps the very bird that the feeder had fed. Friday volunteer Natasha had the pleasure of auditing this object during week 6.

Only one object can make it through to tomorrow’s Grand Final and it’s up to you to decide. Vote for your favourite by clicking on the word VOTE! right here:

VOTE!

Voting has now closed.

Voting closes tomorrow at noon when the winner will join the others in the Grand Final!

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to play along. We’ve hoped you’ve been enjoying it as much as us. Feel free to leave a comment below. See y’all tomorrow.

Ready for Round 3

We’re back for Round 3 of the competition that gets YOU deciding which object has been the best of the current Volunteer Inclusion Project based at the Museum’s Archaeological Archive.

Yesterday’s competition had some really strong candidates but again one object was miles ahead of the others. The winner with the highest number of votes was…

THE LEATHER PURSE

It joins Monday’s winner, the SQUIRREL TOKEN, in Friday’s Grand Final

Here’s Round 3’s selections:

The first option was only rediscovered last week by Friday volunteer Jane. Although uncertain, it is likely that this is the end of a scissor arm – specifically from a pair of grape scissors. Grape scissors were used during the dessert course of a Victorian dinner and tend to be ornately designed, which this fragmentary object displays evidence of. Dining etiquette was an important part of the Victorian code of polite society – only after the grapes had been correctly cut was it permissible for the diner to use his or her fingers. It was originally recovered from Rectory Grove excavations in 1980.

The second artefact also comes from Rectory Grove, was also audited during week 9 and was done so by another Friday volunteer, Mary. This is a rare, late 17^th Century ‘bird pot’ designed to be hung on the side of a building for nesting sparrows. A hole at the back of the pot, known as a ‘robbery hole’, allowed access to the sparrow eggs or indeed fledgling sparrows themselves. The LAARC holds only 61 examples and they are a London phenomenon to Britain. Their discovery in relation with wealthy households has led to an interpretation of them as supplying live sparrows for hawking – a privileged pastime. However, sparrows were also used as a dietary supplement by the poorer classes, which questions their context…sparrow pie anyone?

The third choice was audited by Monday volunteer Paula during week 3 and is a late Saxon – 10^th Century – whittle tang knife blade found in 1979 at Peninsular House. The handle, now lost, may have been made from animal horn or even ivory. This particular blade is especially interesting because of the wire inlay, producing the gold coloured decoration. Copper and brass wire would have been laid side to side in paired grooves in the iron and then hammered. A similar knife has been found a very short distance away in an excavation at Poultry. Saxon London was a major centre for trade but these commonly found knives are English made.

And the final candidate today was audited by Tuesday volunteer Benji during week 4. This is a fine example of a tassel of the Elizabethan era, dating between 1580 and 1600 from its contextual pottery assemblage. It is rare for fibre to survive archaeologically but is due to the material being dumped and buried in a pond that related to the House of Sir John Fastolf (Shakespeare’s Sir John Falstaff) in Southwark (the excavation was at Unicorn Passage, Tooley Street). It is unknown as to what the tassel would have attached to…perhaps clothing, or something more functional such as curtains. We suggest that maybe it adorned a Shakespearean throw cushion!

Well we don’t make it easy for you. Will the scissors seduce you? Will you be blown away by the bird pot? Knocked out by the knife? Or will the tassel tickle your fancy? There’s only one way to decide:

VOTE!

Voting has now closed. Click any part of this sentence for today’s competition.

Voting will close at noon tomorrow when the winner will be announced and you’ll get to vote in the last of the daily rounds before Friday’s Grand Final.

Thanks to everyone for voting and supporting us!

Get Your Voting Fingers Out

Each day this week we’re celebrating the success of our ninth Volunteer Inclusion Project, by putting the best objects that we’ve seen over the past 10 weeks up in daily competitions to decide which is the best.

Yesterday saw some tough choices but there was one clear winner. The object you voted as your favourite was…

THE SQUIRREL TOKEN!

This now enters Friday’s Grand Final. And here’s today’s options:

First up is from week 3 and was audited by Tuesday volunteer Carl. This 16^th–17^th Century copper-alloy figurine depicts the English Patron Saint, George, defeating the legendary dragon. It has been interpreted as a dress or belt fitting although the suspension rings at each end suggest that it may have been part of a more complicated mount. If the object did not have these attachments it could be interpreted as a toy. The object is detailed with plate armour, which is a common depiction of the Saint as a Roman soldier (Georgius). An interesting item considering its discovery in 1979 was outside the Tower of London postern gate excavations – perhaps it was lost by a guard…or deliberately discarded?

Next is this late medieval or early post-medieval wooden chess piece audited by Monday volunteer Norma during week 2. Earlier chess or gaming pieces are non-figurative and usually made of bone. Chess originated in India, known as shatranj, with the gaming pieces represented military divisions. The ‘bishop’ was originally an elephant and the later design of these pieces with a split head may be representative of the elephant’s tusks. Chess became very popular across Europe in the Middle Ages, the deep groove in the piece at this time representing a bishop’s mitre. It was originally discovered in 1979 at Miles Lane.

Third up is a well preserved example of a medieval purse. The ‘medieval’ style of wearing a purse was for it to be hung from the waist, attaching to a belt or girdle. Later types would thread through the belt as an anti-bandit mechanism. This one was excavated from the medieval waterfront at Vintry, hence its fantastic survival condition. It was found alongside dress fittings, trade seals, metalworking waste and coins…but none were found in the actual purse! It was audited by Wednesday volunteer Hannah during week 7

The last object was audited by Friday volunteer Susan during week 5. This is the base of a Roman samian cup dating to 160 – 200 AD and discovered at Seal House in 1974. On the base’s interior is the stamp of the pot maker: one Saturninus of Lezoux in central Gaul (Roman France), from where a huge amount of samian was exported to the wider Roman Empire. The potter Saturninus shares his name with the Roman winter festival the Saturnalia – in honour of the god Saturn – at which Roman social norms were inverted. Considering Winter has now kicked in, this seemed an appropriate object to include as an object of the week!

And now it’s your time to choose today’s best object. Which will you go for? To vote, click on the word VOTE! below:

VOTE!

Voting has now closed but you can vote in Round 4’s competition

Voting will close at noon tomorrow, when the winner will be announced and Round 3 will open.

Thanks for playing!

GET VOTING!

Alright people! Over the past 9 weeks volunteers at the Museum of London’s Archaeological Archive & Research Centre have been working their way through loads of awesome objects, checking that they’re ordered, accessible and stored correctly. During the course of this ninth Volunteer Inclusion Project, 16 objects have stood out as the cream of the crop, the tip top treasures, the stars of the show.

However we want to know which one YOU think is the best of best. So each day this week, we’re putting four objects up against each other in daily competitions.

It’s simple to play: Look at the pictures, read the captions, decide which one you think deserves to be that day’s winner and click on the word VOTE at the end of the page.

Here are the first four contenders:

Our first object was excavated in 1979 at Newgate Street and audited by Wednesday volunteer Alan during week 2. This copper token depicts a squirrel eating a nut surrounded by fleurs-de-lis. Such depictions have also been found on seal matrices with the legend ‘I CRAKE NOTIS’ – ‘I crack nuts’ – referring to the breaking of the seal. This token may relate to the furrier trade, squirrel pelts being in huge demand in the medieval period. The tale of Cinderella may  have involved her losing a squirrel fur-lined-slipper as opposed to a glass slipper, the pronunciation of vair (meaning fur) and verre (meaning glass) in old French being identical!

The second choice was audited by Friday volunteer Richard during week 4. This anthropomorphic appendage was found in a dump outside the southern Tower of London postern gate. The ceramic foot is well crafted showing sophistication (unlike some moulded pieces) and would have been part of a statue considering its size. A hole in its base may have aided the firing process in the kiln, rather than having been part of the statue’s mounting. The fabric of the clay is a London type and was probably made between 1500 and 1680. The statue may have been disposed from the Tower of London, or perhaps from the many industrial activities that pervaded the Tower’s area in post medieval times.

The third option is a piece of medieval stained window glass. Also found at Newgate Street in 1979, it was rediscovered by Tuesday volunteer Katerina during Week 5. Rather than being mounted this piece looks as though it has been ‘grazed’, that is, chipped away round the edges, perhaps from a larger piece – an early example of glass recycling! By the 16^th Century window glass such as this would have been found more commonly in secular buildings as opposed to religious buildings. The central design is that of the Tudor Rose – a common motif of this period.

The final contender comes from Week 8 when Tuesday volunteer Sunny was working through the site archive for 1980’s Albert Embankment excavations. It’s previously been an object-of-the–month back in October 2008, where it was identified as a potter’s tool and this certainly fits with its Lambeth location where the pottery industry flourished from the late 17^th Century. The Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) has logged three examples of this object (outside of London), but all are missing the wheel. However, they have been interpreted as Roman tile combs (focusing on the use of its T-shaped end) but this dating isn’t contextual. Perhaps they’re actually post-medieval pastry jiggers!

Tough decisions but which is your favourite? To cast your vote click here:

VOTE!

Voting has now closed. Click here for today’s competition: Round 4

Voting will be open until noon tomorrow when the winner will be revealed and round two’s choices will be up for the vote.

Thanks for playing along and feel free to leave a comment below.

And so we come to the final blog of LAARC VIP8 – the eighth Volunteer Inclusion Project based at the Museum of London’s Archaeological Archive & Research Centre.

25 volunteers have joined us over the past 10 weeks working on improving the storage and accessibility of over 50 finds archives with 1000s of artefacts packed, checked and sorted. We’ve rediscovered some amazing objects along the way including the sixteen that competed in the Object Of The Project Competition last week (the winner is revealed below) and as the Project Officers, it’s been even better to see how the volunteers have formed new friendships and acquired new knowledge. Here are some of our favourite moments from the 10 weeks:

Coming across old disintegrating foam packaging that resembled Swiss cheese. Really glad we found and replaced these bits.

Discovering marvelous objects such as this piece of leather from the Rose Theatre

Love this tobacco pipe photo from week 7

Making the films with Wednesday's volunteers

Enjoying ourselves in our excellent specialist workshops

And generally having a bit of fun along the way!

Yep. It’s been another great project and once again a big thank you to all our volunteers that give up their time to improve our collections.

A huge thank you to all the specialists, curators and museum staff that have run workshops and led tours during this project. We couldn’t do what we do without their brilliance.

And finally a massive thank you to everyone who has been reading our blog and especially to those who last week were voting in our “Object of LAARC VIP8″ competition. After a record number of votes we can reveal that the object you chose as the best of LAARC VIP8 is…

THE ROMAN INTAGLIO!

Congratulations to Tina Vaughan (1st Prize winner of 2 tickets to the Museum’s next LATE – Fabulous Fifties), Sheila Maddock (2nd Prize winner of 2 free tickets to Museum of London Docklands new Pirates Exhibition) and Rosemary Hudson (3rd Prize pair of free tickets for an archive tour) who all voted for this object and were the first three names to be pulled out of a hat.

All prizes include a pair of free tickets for a tour of the archive led by one of our “Voluntours” Volunteers. Over the past month we’ve been training our volunteers to lead tours of our stores and offer people a great opportunity to visit Europe’s largest Archaeological Archive, exploring behind the scenes, handling objects and learning about LAARC Life from the viewpoint of a volunteer. Tours take place every Friday and the first and third Saturdays of the month. To book a tour please visit our Website: Tours of Mortimer Wheeler House

That’s us done for another project, but we’ll be back soon updating you on all things LAARC. We always welcome feedback and if you have anything you would like to comment on regarding our projects, the object competition or these blogs, please leave a comment on this blog.

DO YOU LIKE HISTORY?

DO YOU LIKE OBJECTS?

DO YOU LIKE WINNING PRIZES?

WELL YOU’VE COME TO RIGHT PLACE! LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, BOYS AND GIRLS, BLOG READERS OF THE WORLD! IT’S TIME FOR…

OBJECT OF LAARC VIP8:

GRAND FINAL!

Once upon a time, 10 weeks ago, 25 individuals arrived at the Museum of London’s Archaeological Archive & Research Centre looking for a chance to learn new skills, handle real archaeology and help improve the museum’s archaeological collections. As each week passed, these individuals formed strong teams, learning how to handle, audit and store artefacts from all periods of London’s past. Along the way they came across some historical treasures – 16 objects that stood out amongst the rest as nuggets of history that provide a connection to those that went before us. The teams became known as those of the eighth Volunteer Inclusion Programme. The objects decided to compete against each over to see which was best. And which object is the best? Well… that’s for you to decide…

AND THE NOMINEES ARE…

Monday’s round 1 winner was this Clay Tobacco Pipe audited by volunteer Margo during Week 2 of the project but originally found in 1977 at St Thomas Street excavations. It dates from 1850-1900 and the decoration features a steam locomotive on one side with a fully rigged (three masts, all square rigged) ship on the obverse. The type of locomotive is called the Planet type after Robert Stephenson’s Planet of 1830 and the ship is likely to be a Clipper, which became prominent from the 1840s and are probably best know for use in the tea trade with China. Perhaps the pipe celebrates Britain’s Industrial Revolution and the advances of 19^th Century transportation.

Tuesday’s round 2 winner was this Roman Intaglio. Found during the excavations at Watling Court and audited by Tuesday volunteer Jim during Week 7, it’s only 6mm wide, made of carnelian and dates to the 1^st Century AD. Depicting Fortuna, the personification of luck, with pantheistic attributes of wings, helmet and shield, this intaglio would originally have been set in a ring and used as a seal, which is testament to literacy in Londinium. A number of high quality intaglios have been excavated from Roman London, suggesting a gem-cutting studio may have existed…

On Wednesday, the victor in round 3 was this Figurine Salt. dating from the 17th Century but discovered in 1979 at Hibernia Wharf. Audited in Week 8 by Friday volunteer Khushboo, this is one of three figurine salts found within a dump of kiln material. The figurine would originally have held a dish for table salt (hence the name) and although salt dishes are common (as are figurines) a figurine salt is rare and the one here has no known parallel. What is additionally unusual is the design – the figures have Afro-Caribbean features and are seated, naked. These figures are also wasters in that they have traces of unfired glaze on them, otherwise known as biscuit ware.

And finally, Thursday’s winner of round four, the Witch Bottle audited by Thursday volunteer Donna during Week 2. Originally a stoneware Bellarmine bottle, this was reused as a witch bottle to divert the evil eye and act as a protective ward against witches (hence the name). Bent and twisted pins are usually found inside, using sympathetic magic to personally harm the witch. Other common contents can include blood, urine, hair or brimstone. This example is rare as it has its contents still in situ and finds like this show how mass produced ubiquitous objects (drinking vessels) can be reused and transformed into a sacred object of unique function. It was originally excavated in 1977 at St James’s Passage Subway.

So there you have it, your final four. But which is the best and will this lead to you winning a prize? All you have to do is decide which of the four is your favourite and worthy of being “Object of LAARC VIP8“. Should your choice win, you will be entered into a draw – just remember to leave your contact details in the space provided when voting (and should you not want to be entered into the draw, you can skip that bit and just select your favourite object)

Up for grabs is not one, not two, but THREE prizes!

Third Prize is a pair of tickets for a tour of LAARC, the largest archaeological archive in Europe! (click here for more)

Second Prize is a pair of tickets for a tour of the archive PLUS two free entry tickets to the excellent new exhibition at Museum of London Docklands – PIRATES! The Captain Kid Story(click here for more)

First Prize is a pair of tickets for a tour of our archive PLUS two complementary tickets for next month’s awesome LATE event – FABULOUS FIFTIES! (click here for more)

So what are you going to go for? To cast your vote click here:

Voting has now closed

Voting will stay open all weekend and the winning object plus the winners of the prizes will be announced at noon on Monday 11th July.

Welcome back one and all for another daily competition to help decide which has been the best object of the Museum of London’s Archaeological Archive & Research Centre’s eighth Volunteer Inclusion Programme! Over the past 10 weeks lots of fabulous artefacts have been rediscovered by our volunteers as they’ve been auditing and repacking our collections. But which object joins Monday’s Winner- the tobacco pipe – in Friday’s Grand Final?

Click here to find out the Winning object of Round 2

Was that your choice? Ready to see if your favourite wins today’s contest?

Round 3

First up then a Roman object from Blomfield House excavations in 1987. Audited by Tuesday volunteer Lucy during Week 4, this hobnailed leather sole comes from a military boot known as  a caliga. The hobnails both bind the layers of leather together and also allow greater traction for marching.  The central ‘chicken foot’ design is rare for London (shapes such as circles, diamonds and triangles are far more common). This shoe may be of a burial context, excavated outside of the Roman city. Interestingly a number of associated funerary vessels were discovered with offerings of chickens…

Your next choice is a piece of pottery! This ‘encrusted’ Border ware Mug dates to the 17^th Century and the central band of decoration is made of dense flint chippings which are stuck to the pot with a clay cladding. This decoration would have made the mug difficult to hold when drinking from, because of the weight. The green glaze is very typical of Border ware pottery, so called because the industry was located on the Surrey-Hampshire county border. Originally excavated in 1964 at Hopton Street, Southwark it was repacked during Week 9 by Tuesday volunteer Michael.

The third option was audited by Wednesday volunteer Ed during Week 4. This silver denarius was excavated in Southwark in the area of Roman Watling Street, Southwark and dates to 196-211 AD. The obverse depicts the bust of Julia Domna, wife of Emperor Septimius Severus and mother of fratricidal Emperor Caracalla. The reverse depicts the personification of the Virtue Pietas (PIETAS PVBLICA). The coin’s value was equivalent to a Roman soldier’s daily pay, which was increased under Severus.

The final candidate today dates from the 17th Century but was discovered in 1979 at Hibernia Wharf. Audited in Week 8 by Friday volunteer Khushboo, this is one of three figurine salts found within a dump of kiln material. The figurine would originally have held a dish for table salt (hence the name) and although salt dishes are common (as are figurines) a figurine salt is rare and the one here has no known parallel. What is additionally unusual is the design – the figures have Afro-Caribbean features and are seated, naked. These figures are also wasters in that they have traces of unfired glaze on them, otherwise known as biscuit ware.

Well we don’t make it easy for you. Tough choices but only one will make it through to Friday’s Final. Which one will it be? That’s up to you to help decide. To vote for your favourite click here:

VOTING FOR ROUND 3 HAS NOW CLOSED

Voting closes tomorrow at noon when the winner will be revealed and join Monday’s tobacco pipe and Tuesday’s intaglio. One more round tomorrow before Friday’s Grand Final where if the object you vote for wins, you stand a chance of winning a free tour of the archive to see these objects plus many more!

Ladies & Gentlemen, welcome back to Round 2 of our Object Competition!

Each week during the London Archaeological Archive & Research Centre’s current Volunteer Inclusion Programme (LAARC VIP8), we’ve been rediscovering some awesome objects that archaeologists have dug up over the years.Yesterday’s competition was a tough one, but loads of you voted and your winner was…

CLICK HERE FOR YESTERDAY’S WINNER!

Was that the one you went for? Ready to play again?

Round 2

First up it’s this 18th Century perfume bottle excavated  at Watling Court in 1978. Audited by Tuesday volunteer Nicola during Week 6,  it’s inscribed: “Warren/Perfumer/Mary-bone/Street/London”. Richard Warren appears to have been a successful perfumer and later formed a partnership with Richard Rosser who produced ‘Milk of roses’ – an early 19^th Century skin cosmetic advertised in The Times. LAARC also holds a number of tin-glazed ointment jars with Warren & Rosser’s branding suggesting they were prominent 19^th Century retailers.

Your second option was audited by Thursday volunteer Juan during Week 3. This bone awl (c.1600-1650) is of especial interest because it is made from the antler tine of a red-deer. The awl would have been used for piercing leather and perhaps its appearance suggests leather working was undertaken. This ties in nicely with the site is was found at (Cutler Street) where evidence of other industries including horn-, ivory- and glass-working from the 16^th – 17^th Century was also evident.

The third choice was audited by Thursday volunteer Rebecca during Week 9. This decorative badge depicts a dove flying from Noah’s Ark as described in Genesis (8). Early Christians in Rome first adopted the symbol of a dove and olive branch as one of peace, for which it is still used today. Although not Roman itself, the badge was discovered in Greenwich Park, where an extensive Roman temple complex in London’s hinterland is beleived to have stood.

Today’s final candidate also comes from the excavations at Watling Court. Audited by Tuesday volunteer Jim during Week 7, this Roman intaglio made of carnelian dates to the 1^st Century AD and is only 6mm wide. It depicts Fortuna, the personification of luck, with pantheistic attributes of wings, helmet and shield. This intaglio would originally have been set in a ring and used as a seal, which is testament to literacy in Londinium. A number of high quality intaglios have been excavated from Roman London, suggesting a gem-cutting studio may have existed…

Another set of fine choices, but which shall join yesterday’s winner. Only one way to decide – get voting by clicking here:

VOTING HAS NOW CLOSED!

Voting closes tomorrow at noon when the winner will be announced and Round 3 will commence! Winning objects will compete in Friday’s Grand Final where the winning object comes attached with a prize for one lucky voter. Did someone mention free tickets…