POST MEDIEVAL TAP

1800

Copper alloy Barrel Tap. Cast tapering tube with corrugated sides and a plain zone at its narrow end which bears four or five (one lost) rows of four drilled holes of diameter 2.5mm. The narrow end is partially blocked by a metal insert. The corrugations were to fix the tap into a bung hole when it was driven in. The perforated inlet was intended to receive liquid without disturbing sediment, a requirement when drawing off naturally conditioned beer or cider with yeasty lees at the bottom. Corrosion has perforated the tube all along a restricted zone. Suggested date: Post-Medieval, 1800-1900.Length: 91mm, Diameter (outer end): 26.2mm, Thickness (wall of tube): 4.4mm, Weight: 108.10gms.