The working life of Museum of London

Everywhere you go these days it seems you can’t avoid people trying to get you to vote for something. So here at the Museum of London’s Archaeological Archive, we thought we’d join in with this current craze and get you voting for something too. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, it’s…

OBJECT OF LAARC VIP5!

Over the past eight weeks, volunteers on LAARC’s 5th Volunteer Inclusion Project have been working through material from the 1970’s, improving the storage and accessibility of these archives. Along the way, some spectacular objects have been rediscovered. Here are the first four objects fighting for your vote:

DOG SKULL

Repacked by Monday volunteer Zoe, the first featured object of the VIP project was this well preserved dog’s skull from London Docks, The Highway E1(LD74). This poor ‘collie’ was only in his first few years when he died (as can be determined from the lack of wear on the dental enamel).

WARMING PAN

Repackaged by Monday volunteer Sarah (with help from Zoe & Bianca), this warming pan also from London Docks, The Highway E1, (LD76), probably dates to the C17^th. Rarely have these pans been found in such a complete state and as such it has been added to the MOLA database by our Ceramic Specialists. This pan would have held embers/coals and would have been used for general household heating and warming.

FLOOR TILE

Repackaged by Monday volunteer Bianca, this ceramic floor tile belongs to the ‘Westminster’ type. Its central decoration in yellow glaze depicts the head of a King. Based on the dating of the tile to the period c.1250-1300 this could be interpreted as Henry III or Edward I. These tiles commonly decorated monastic buildings. It was excavated at Trig Lane, Upper Thames Street, EC4. (TL74)

GLASS BOTTLE

Repackaged by Monday volunteer James, this post-medieval glass bottle is in excellent condition especially considering its deposit in the very topmost stratigraphy of the site. The high kick to its base (pontil), its rim and ‘onion’ shape suggest an early C18^th date. It comes from 48-50 Cannon Street, EC4. (CS75)

And there we have it. Your first four choices.

To cast your vote click here . Voting closes at 10am tomorrow, 20th April.

Thanks for playing and join us again tomorrow for the next four objects. The easiest way to keep updated is by clicking on the RSS icon on the top right of this page or the bookmark button, just beneath.