The working life of Museum of London

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s competition. The winning object was…

THE SAXON BONE BIRD PIN!

Today’s competition then:

First up, an object from Week 7. Audited by Monday volunteer Laura, this cool 10^th Century comb used to be on display in the Museum of London’s old Saxon gallery! Combs are one of the most common artefacts from early medieval London and obviously an important accessory. The comb’s teeth are made from a sheet of horn and the ‘side-plates’ from cattle ribs which are riveted together. In the later medieval period horn is replaced by wood as a more common material for combs, although ivory is also popular throughout. This one came from excavations at Milk Street during 1976 (MLK76)

The second object trying to win your support comes from New Fresh Wharf excavations (SM75) but was rediscovered during week 5 by Wednesday volunteer Gillian. This amphora neck bears painted graffiti which translates as ‘the best fish sauce’. This storage vessel would have therefore contained the commodity garum (which we could call ‘Roman ketchup’!). The form of the amphora may be a Dressel 28, produced in the Guadalquivir valley of Baetica (Roman Spain) and imported to London.

The third candidate was also repacked during week 5 and this time it’s a joint effort by Monday’s volunteer’s Emma & Lucy. Found in 1974 at “The Triangle” (TR74), this is a very rare example of a woven Roman basket. A leather thong would have connected with the leather tag at the top to close the basket. Preserved by the waterlogged conditions of the waterfront, the site was originally a Roman quay. The material deposited in the quay may have come from a warehouse clearance and perhaps the basket was used by a Roman constructing the quay in the first half of the 2^nd CenturyAD and then lost or disposed of.

The final object today was the very first object to be packed during this project. Saturday volunteer Paul packed this aftefact from the General Post Office at Newgate Street (GPO75) during week1. This piece of human skull exhibits sharp force trauma to the right frontal side, above the eye socket. The polished edge and style of wound suggest this could have been inflicted by a sword. Although this may not have been the fatal blow, it would certainly have caused trauma and swelling to the brain!

To vote for your favourite object from today’s selection, click here: VOTE (Voting has now closed, but you can vote in round 4)

Voting closes tomorrow afternoon (Wed 11th Aug) at 13.00.

Thanks for playing and don’t forget there’ll be another competition tomorrow with four more objects to choose from. Click on the “RSS” icon towards the top right of the page to keep updated with all the competitions this week.