Little Thetford flesh hook
MaterialBronze
SizeHooked part length:12 in (30 cm) weight:9 oz (255 g)
Butt end length:6 in (15 cm) weight:4 oz (113 g)
Createdlate Bronze Age
(1150 – 950 BC)[1]
Discovered1929, Little Thetford
Present locationBritish Museum
IdentificationCHER 06956

The Little Thetford flesh-hook is a late Bronze-Age (1150 – 950 BC) artefact discovered in 1929 in Little Thetford, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. A flesh-hook is a metal hook with a long handle used to pull meat out of a pot or hides out of tan-pits. This particular find is one of 32 other such archaeologically significant finds, scatters, and excavations within 1 square mile (2.6 km2) of Little Thetford.

Discovery

The artefact was found by a Mr. Dresser, whilst digging a ditch on reclaimed fenland, at Little Thetford in 1929. Discovered about 9 feet (2.7 m) down, it consisted of two-parts, connected by the remains of a wooden shaft. The wood remains have not survived; a contemporary wooden shaft has been added by the British Museum for display purposes. The artefact is in the British Museum though is not, as of 2012, on display.[2] Within 1 square mile (2.6 km2) of Little Thetford, there have been 33 finds of various kinds over the years,[3] such as flints[4] from the Neolithic era through to a windmill[5] of the late Medieval period.

Uses

The word flesh-hook is relatively modern. The OED gives the origin of the word as 1325 AD, and defines it as a metal hook with a long stail,[6] used to pull hides out of tan-pits or as a hook for pulling meat from the pot.[7] It may also have been used as a tool to prod animals.[8] The use of this flesh-hook in the Bronze Age can only be speculated.

Construction

The metal used in the construction is a bronze alloy, found to be typical of the late Bronze Age. The material was analysed using ICP – AES and contained (approximately) 85% copper, 10% tin, 3% lead, and 2% impurities; although the constituents of the individual parts varied around these figures.[9] From an analysis of 36 other Bronze-Age flesh-hooks known to be in existence,[10] the assembled length of hook-part, butt-end, and missing wood part is speculated to be 2.5 feet (0.76 m).[9]

The artefact was manufactured by casting, using a mould in a lost-wax (cire perdue) process.[9]

Dating

The British Museum dates the artefact within the Bronze Age 1150 – 950 BC.[1] The Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Record database dates the artefact as late Bronze Age 1000–701 BC.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "flesh-hook". The British Museum. 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  2. 1 2 Bowman, S. "Late Bronze Age flesh hook, Little Thetford". Cambridgeshire HER. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "Heritage Gateway home". Cambridgeshire HER. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  4. ↑ Ely Museum (1984). "Neolithic polished flint axe, Little Thetford". Cambridgeshire HER. Retrieved 26 June 2010.
  5. ↑ Hughes, H C. "Late Medieval windmill". Cambridgeshire HER. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  6. ↑ A handle, esp. a long slender handle, as the handle of a rake, etc. "Oxford English Dictionary: 'Stail'". Oxford University Press. 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  7. ↑ "Oxford English Dictionary: 'flesh-hook". Oxford University Press. 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "A guide to the Antinquities of London: Bronze flesh-hook". The British Museum. 1920. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 Bowman, S (2007). "The Dunaverney and Little Thetford flesh-hooks: history, technology and their position within the later Bronze Age atlantic zone feasting complex". The Antiquaries Journal. Society of Antiquaries of London. 87: 53–108. doi:10.1017/S0003581500000846. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  10. ↑ Needham, Stuart; Sheridan Bowman (2005). "Flesh-Hooks, Technological Complexity and the Atlantic Bronze Age Feasting Complex". European Journal of Archaeology. 8 (2): 93–136. doi:10.1177/1461957105066936. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
This article is about an item held in the British Museum. The object reference is 1929,0415.1.

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