MEDIEVAL VESSEL

1100

A copper-alloy miniature vessel. It measures 48mm in height and has a rounded base; it is generally globular in shape with a very short neck and two parallel integral loop handles. It measures 35.4mm in diameter at its widest point and has a rim diameter of 23mm. There is a small irregular roughly circular hole through the base, which appears to have been created due to wear rather than being an intentional original feature of this vessel. The vessel has a black patina and areas of active powdery green corrosion. There are about 20 parallels on the PAS database as of 2011.It was initially thought (Geoff Egan, pers. comm.) that they may have been mercury flasks, but the find of SUR-FA2AB0, with the inscription OLEVM CHRISM, suggested a new interpretation as a flask for holy oil. This find was published in Medieval Archaeology 48 (2004), and from the style of the lettering was tentatively dated to before c. 1200 AD.Similar small bulbous flasks with handles have been recorded on the Portable Antiquities Scheme database. Examples of parallels include SF4470, SF10638, LVPL-5646E7, LVPL-EC3F40, LANCUM-6DA432 and SOMDOR-446A83.