Colchester Archaeological Report 2: The Roman small finds

unlikely that they would exhibit sawn surfaces except
perhaps at the ends. Fig 185, 4334, for example, is an
obvious offcut and its faces are either natural bone
surface, broken or knife-trimmed. It has been noted
elsewhere (Crummy 1981, 284-5) that as bone is
easily worked it can take as long to make a rough-out
from a splinter of bone as it does to make a finished
article. The wedge-shaped pieces therefore should
perhaps be viewed as objects if not finished, at least
near completion. Their shape may in fact indicate
their function. Perhaps these objects are wedges
used to break up cracked long bones and thus prevent
the loss of well-shaped splinters, intended perhaps
for the manufacture of pins, by the overuse of a
hammer. The thinner ends of all these pieces are
damaged, which accords well with this idea. It may be
possible to extend this hypothesis to include not only
those items which have been sawn to a fine point, but
the three with thicker ends, and possibly even the two
pieces with roughly rounded section. It is possible
then to view these fifteen items as a cohesive group,
with the possible exception of Fig 186, 4345.
4333 Fig 185 SF BKC 4902(C), N75 L8. Dump. Period 6. A wedgeshaped
object with four sawn faces. The thick end is also
sawn. The thin end is damaged. One face shows cancellous
tissue. Length 65.5 mm.
4334 Fig 185 SF BKC 4902(C), N75 L8. Dump. Period 6. An offcut
with faces of both inner and outer natural bone surface, one
broken face and two knife-cut faces. The thick end is sawn.
Length 59.5 mm.
4335 Fig 185 SF BKC 4030(C), N77 L8. Dump. Period 6. A wedgeshaped
object with three sawn faces and one face of
trimmed outer bone surface. The thick end is sawn. The thin
end is damaged. One face shows cancellous tissue. Length
80.5mm.
4336 Fig 185 SF BKC 4371 (C), N84 L8. Dump. Period 6. A wedgeshaped
object with four sawn faces. The thick end is sawn
and the thin end damaged. One face shows cancellous
tissue. Length 85.5 mm.
4337 Fig 185 SF BKC 4371(C), N84 L8. Dump. Period 6. A piece
similar to the wedge-shaped objects but thicker. Possibly an
unfinished example. Two of its faces are sawn. One is of
trimmed outer bone surface, and one narrow one is either
cut or broken. Both ends have been sawn. Length 85.5 mm.
4338 Fig 185 SF BKC 4901(C), N84 L8. Dump. Period 6. A wedgeshaped
object with three sawn faces and one of trimmed
natural outer bone surface. The thick end is sawn and the
thin end is damaged. One face shows cancellous tissue.
Length 70.5 mm.
4339 Fig 185 SF BKC 4901(C), N84 L8. Dump. Period 6. A thick
fragment similar to the wedge-shaped objects. Three faces
are sawn as are both ends. The other faces are knifetrimmed
or natural outer bone surface. Length 93.5 mm.
4340 Fig 185 SF BKC 4901(C), N84 L8. Dump. Period 6. A
roughly-cut tapering object of irregular circular to elliptical
section. The narrower end is almost rectangular in section
and damaged. The thicker end has been broken. Length
61.0mm.
4341 Fig 186 SF BKC 5976, N84L8. Dump. Period 6. A section of a
long bone sawn at both ends and cloven lengthwise. Length
91 5mm.
4342 Fig 186 SF BKC 5976, N84 L8. Dump. Period 6. A fragment
of a long bone similar to 4341. Length 88.0mm.
4343 Fig 186 SF BKC 4359(C), N87 F21. Pit. Period 6+. A roughlycut
peg-shaped object. The thicker end has been sawn
across, the narrower end is damaged. Length 53.5 mm.
4344 Fig 186 SF BKC 5344, N90 L9. Floor? Period 6. A fragment of
either a wedge-shaped object or one of the thicker but
similar pieces. The latter identification if the most likely.
Three of the faces are sawn and one is of trimmed natural
152
outer bone surface. One end has been sawn, the other has
been recently broken. Length 59.0mm.
4345 Fig 186 SF BKC 5308, N239 F2(?). Period 5ba or 6. A section
from a long bone sawn across at each end and cloven
lengthwise. Towards one long edge are traces of two knife
strokes. In the cut surface of one a slight hole has been
drilled, 2.0 mm in diameter and approximately 1.5 mm deep.
The turns of a centre bit can be clearly distinguished on the
floor of the hole. Closer to the centre of the bone fragment is
a ring-and-dot mark, also 2.0mm in diameter, made by one
turn of a centre bit. Length 58.5 mm.
4346 Not illustrated. SF BKC 5989, N245. Period 6. The sawn-off
end of a long bone from near the articulation which has been
broken off. Length 69.0mm.
4347 Fig 186 SF BKC 4407(C), N323 F97(?). Period 5b2 or 6. A thin
splinter, possibly from a scapula. No worked surface can be
distinguished. Length 76.5mm.
THE BUTT ROAD BONE-WORKING
INDUSTRY
The bone-working industry on the Butt Road site has
been discussed at length in Crummy 1981. In brief,
the manufacture of bone ornament, probably for
furniture, seems to have taken place if not on, at least
near, the site in a period in the early 4th century when
the north-south aligned cemetery had ceased to be
used and either before the later cemetery was opened
or contemporary with its early use. Of the objects
recovered, chiefly offcuts and blundered or waste
pieces, only a selection has previously been
published. The complete group is illustrated here.
Lanceolate leaves with petioles (Fig 187; 4348-
4353). These six objects have all been roughed out
with broad knife strokes. Two of the leaves, 4352 and
4353 have been included in the group on that basis,
though their petioles are missing. The possibility that
the petioles may be stocks providing a handhold in the
manufacture of plain leaves similar to 4354-60 has
been considered but dismissed (ibid, 284).
4348 Fig 187 SF BUC 661, C1317 L2. Late Period 1 or Period 2.
Length 118.5 mm, maximum width 25.5 mm. One edge of
the leaf has splintered in antiquity. The other edge towards
the tip has been damaged recently.
4349 Fig 187 SF BUC 652, C1332 L2. Late Period 1 or Period 2.
Length 94.0mm, maximum width 21.0mm. The upper
surface is badly scarred by over-deep knife cuts.
4350 Fig 187 SF BUC 703, C1382 G399. Grave fill. Period 2.
Length 98.0mm, maximum width 23.0mm (ibid, fig 1,1).
4351 Fig 187 SF BUC 699, C1411. Unstratified. Length 113.0mm,
maximum width 25.0mm.
4352 Fig 187 SF BUC 698, C1423 G402. Grave fill. Period 2.
Length 89.0mm, maximum width 25.5 mm. The upper
surface is scarred by over-deep knife cuts. There is no
petiole but one end is missing.
4353 Fig 187 SF BUC 742, C1498 L2. Late Period 1 or Period 2.
Length 79.0mm, maximum width 23.5mm. One end has
been broken off recently.
Lanceolate leaves without petioles (Fig 188; 4354-
4360). These objects could equally well be petals as
leaves (ibid, 278). Both faces of all the pieces have
been rasped smooth.
4354 Fig 188 SF BUC 657, CI 310 L2. Late Period 1 or Period 2.
Length 95.5 mm, maximum width 28.0mm (ibid, fig 1, 2).
4355 Fig 188 SF BUC 664, C1313 L2. Late Period 1 or Period 2.
Length 81.0mm, maximum width 20.0mm.
4356 Fig 188 SF BUC 647, C1334 L2. Late Period 1 or Period 2.
Length 63.0mm, maximum width 23.0mm. One end has