The working life of Museum of London

Ladies & Gentlemen. You’ve been voting all week for your favourite objects to determine which is the best artefact from VIP6. Well, the winners are in and are ready to do battle. It’s time for…

OBJECT OF VIP6! THE GRAND FINAL!

Monday’s winner was this super Saxon “Bird” Pin. Audited by Friday volunteer Claire during Week 8’s session, this is a rare example of a late Saxon (C11^th – C12^th) ivory ‘hipped’ pin’. It was found during excavations at Merton Priory. (MPY88) The pin could be interpreted as representing a bird with feathered wings, eye and the shaft as an elongated beak. The presence of this late pin (as well as waste from antler and ivory working) on the site indicates affluence and perhaps a settlement nearby, maybe of a monastic nature.

The second winner was repacked during week 5 and was a joint effort by Monday’s volunteers 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 Century AD and then lost or disposed of.

Wednesday’s winner was repacked by Monday volunteer Deborah during Week 3. This  fine medieval sheath from Billingsgate excavations (BWB83) dates to around the mid 14th Century. The engraved/embossed decoration features a number of anonymous animals. Due to the zoomorphic decoration the blades are usually interpreted as ‘hunting’ knives, although knives were commonplace and multipurpose tools in the medieval period.

The final winner of the week was audited by Friday volunteer Nuri during Week 4. This metallic object comes from another large excavation near the archaeological waterfront of the Thames – St Magnus, New Fresh Wharf (SM75). This very well preserved Roman finger ring had a very practical purpose for the security minded Roman. It would probably have opened a small box or casket containing valuables such as jewellery. To date we still haven’t discovered a matching key and lock…

Tough choices but there can only be one winner. And it’s up to you to decide. This time however, you’ve got plenty of time to make a decision as the competition is open for a over a week and voting closes on Wed 25th August at noon.

To cast your vote and have your say click here:

VOTE

Thanks to everyone who has voted over the past week and has supported our VIP6 project. We hope you’ve enjoyed it.

If you have any thoughts you’d like to share about the competition or our project please leave a comment below.