File:A Roman-Medieval bone gaming piece or spindle whorl. (FindID 586839).jpg

English: A Roman-Medieval bone gaming piece or spindle whorl. The objects is circular and flat on both sides with a central perforation. There is a ring and dot decoration on one side, arranged into three groups of three ring and dot motifs that form triangles. There is evidence of wear at two points around the edge of the disc so that part of the edge is narrower.

There is a parallel in Egan (1998, no. 963), which dates to AD1350-1400 and is identified as a gaming counter. However only a fragment of the counter remains and it is decorated on both sides. An early medieval spindle whorl of the same shape but different pattern can be found in MacGregor, Mainman and Rogers (1999, no. 6692). However, most of the spindle whorls are much larger than this example. A similar example can be found in MacGregor (1985, 186-187) which dates to "the Conquest", though the author does not specify which conquest, refering to both Roman and Medieval periods throughout the text. MacGregor does note that it is the central perforation that destinguishes the spindle whorl from gaming pieces of a similar design (MAcGregor, 1985, 187).

There are no exact parallels on the PAS database, though some gaming discs made of bone with a ring and dot motif do exist: IOW-922644 and ESS-648BF1. However, spindle whorls of the same design tend to be made of lead: LIN-9341A3.

Dimensions: diameter: 22.29 mm; thickness: 4.29 mm; weight: 2.54g.

References: MacGregor, A. 1985. Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn. The Technology of Skeletal Materials since the Roman Period. Croom Helm, London and Sydney.

MacGregor, A. Mainman, A. J. and Rogers, N. S. H. 1999. Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn from Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York. Council for British Archaeology, York.

Egan, G. 1998 The Medieval Household - Medieval finds from excavations in London. HMSO. London