Colchester Archaeological Report 2: The Roman small finds

2131 Fig 85 SF BKC 2723(C), H111 F33. Rubbish pit. Period 5c.
Iron handle fragment with flat rectangular section loop.
2132 Fig 85 SF BKC 2774(C), H239 F68. Hearth over pit. Period 5c.
Large thick handle with bud-like terminals. The section is a
slightly flattened circle at the mid-point of the loop and
rather more flattened towards the terminals.
2134 Fig 85 SF BKC 3261 (C), J181 L25. Dump. Period 5c/6. Drophandle
decoratively moulded terminals, part of one bend is
missing. The two split-pins which fixed the handle to the
drawer or box still survive. One is rather larger than the
other. The loop of the handle is lozenge-shaped in section,
becoming circular towards the terminals. Length
approximately 54.0mm.
2137 Fig 85 SF BKC 4877(C), T426. Period 1 (or 2). Iron twisted
drop-handle, both terminals are damaged. Length 84.5mm.
2142 Fig 85 SF BUC 566, C11 28 L1. Period 2. Tiny drop-handle of
rectangular section. Length 19.5 mm.
2145 Fig 85 SF COC 204, 975 L280. Dump. Period 3. Drop-handle
with square section loop and circular section plain
terminals. Length 65.5 mm.
Copper-alloy furniture fragments (Fig 86; 2146-
2149). Pieces to be considered as probably the
sources of the following few fragments include small
tables, stools, lamp stands (candelabra), portable
altars or figurine bases. Valuable groups of illustrated
examples can be found in Ward-Perkins and Claridge
1976. Given the size of the fragments catalogued
here it is impossible to attempt to draw conclusions as
to the specific items of furniture represented.
2146 Fig 86 SF LWC 3200(C), J951. Make-up. Period 3. Very
corroded and laminated ?foot. Height 28.0mm.
2148 Fig 86 SF BUC 97, A408 G33. Grave fill. Period 2. Fragment
broken across a perforation in the upper surface. Height
17.5 mm.
Fig 86 Fragments from copper-alloy items of furniture (1:1)
82
2149 Fig 86 SF BUC 876, E52 L6. Destruction debris and topsoil.
Post-Roman. A four-toed foot. The two middle toes do not
touch the ground. There is a ?rivet hole at the base of the
upright element, with another on the line of the fracture.
These could indicate that the foot was fixed to the leg of a
wooden piece of furniture. Height 21.0mm.
Bone inlay (Figs 87 and 88; 2150-2162). Thin
strips of bone, often decorated with incised geometric
patterns, were used principally as casings for wooden
boxes or caskets. Groups of inlay strips from boxes
are illustrated in Henderson 1949, pl 58 and Wilson
1968, pls 61 -2. A complete box of decorated bone is
known from Heilbronn (Goessler 1932, 294). Larger
items of furniture could also be decorated with bone
inlay (Nicholls 1979; Crummy 1981; see pp 152-60).
2150 Fig 87 SF LWC 750, B321 F70. Cellar backfill. Period 5. Inlay
strip decorated along each long side with a row of incised
single ring-and-dot and down the centre with a row of
double ring-and-dot motifs. The decoration would have been
cut with a compass-like engraving tool (Goessler 1932, Abb
3). The undersurface has been well smoothed. Length
77.5mm, width 19.0mm, thickness 1.5 to 2.0mm.
2151 Fig 87 SF LWC 1744, D161. Dump or make-up? Post-
Roman. Inlay strip with badly scarred upper surface. The
decoration consists of five triple ring-and-dot motifs, one at
each corner and one in the centre, two double ring-and-dots
at the centre of each long side, and pairs of single ring-anddots
between each of the five triple-ringed elements. A
grooved line runs from the inside edge of each double ringand-dot
to the outer edge of each corner triple ring-and-dot
and gives some cohesion to an otherwise loose, complex
pattern. The undersurface has been smoothed but bears
several thin scratches across its width. There is a small
perforation at the middle of the central triple-ringed motif,
probably to take a small fixing peg. The sides are quite
irregular. Length 42.0mm, width 25.0mm, thickness
3.0mm.
2152 Fig 87 SF LWC 3895, G489. Dump or make-up. Period 2. A
small thick piece of inlay with two deep parallel grooves. The
undersurface is rough cancellous tissue. Length 22.0mm,
width 9.0mm, thickness 3.5mm.
2153 Fig 87 SF LWC 1798, H36 F10. Road ditch. Roman. A plain
mitred strip of inlay. The end opposite to the mitred corner is
broken. Both surfaces are smooth. The upper face still
shows traces of saw and/or rasp marks, and parts of the
lower are rough with cancellous tissue. Length 75.0mm,
width 11.5mm, thickness 3.0mm.
2154 Fig 87 SF LWC 4055, R30. Destruction debris. Period 4 or
post-Roman. A small strip with two parallel grooves. The
reverse shows coarse saw marks. Length 27.5 mm, width
9.0mm, thickness 2.0mm.
2155 Fig 87 SF BKC 2856(C), H288 L13. Dump. Period 5b (end)
and possibly into 5c and 6. A piece of stepped inlay with one
convex step on one long side and two on the other,
somewhat similar to the stepped inlay from the Butt Road
workshop (Fig 190). There is a peg hole near each end, and
one peg survives. There is slight green staining, probably
from contact with copper alloy, round one peg hole. The
underside shows rasp marks. The piece was made from a
long bone or metapodial. The bone is very dense and may be
horse bone. Length 62.5 mm, width 19.5 mm, maximum
thickness 4.0mm. The peg is 22.5mm long and has a
maximum diameter of 4.0mm.
2156 Fig 87 SF BKC 2783(C), H298 (F94+F167). Pits. Period 6.
Ansate strip of inlay, with incised ring-and-dot and line
decoration. Both ends are damaged. The central panel has
three large double ring-and-dot elements, with the area
between the two rings filled in with alternating large and
small single ring-and-dot ornament. There is a single ringand-dot
at each corner of the central panel and double ringand-dot
motifs between them on each long side, opposite
the gaps between the large elements. Grooved lines link the
outer edge of this row of four with the inner edges. Filling in
the short sides of the central panel is a row of three small