This section catalogues the finds from the Amphitheatre Site that are from the Medieval Period. The medieval period roughly covers around 1000 years of history. Form the fall of the Roman empire at 450AD up until around 1500AD.
This appears to be a handle from a large medieval jug or storage jar. The type of clay from which this is made suggests that it was made in Cheshire. It would have been used in the thirteenth or early fourteenth century. It was found in Area C.
A medieval copper-alloy brooch. The brooch appears to be undecorated; this type of brooch is known as an annular brooch because of its shape. This was discovered in Area C of the site.
A spindle whorl made from the top of a cow’s leg bone.
Before the use of spinning wheels, spinning was carried out with a spindle and a whorl. The spindle, or rod, usually had a swelling on which the whorl was fitted. A wisp of prepared wool was twisted around the spindle, which was then spun and allowed to drop. The whorl, acting like a flywheel adds momentum to the spindle. By doing this the fibres were extended and twisted into a yarn. These types of whorls first appear in the Iron Age or earlier and were still popular in Viking and Norman periods.
A late medieval copper-alloy mount made in the shape of a six-petalled flower. These were generally used to decorate belts, straps or other pieces of clothing. Found in Area B
Rim and spout of a type of jug known as a spouted pitcher. It is unusual to find this sort of jug in Chester; it may be 12th or early 13th century in date, a period for which we have very little archaeological evidence in the city.
A medieval jug. The jug is made from a white clay and decorated with strips and discs of red clay. The discs and the ends of the strips have been stamped with a star-burst pattern. It has a lead glaze which makes the pot look yellow with a rich reddish brown decoration. Made in the 13th or possibly early 14th century. This sort of pottery is not very common in Chester and we are not sure where it was made, north Wales is a possibility. The jug was found in about 20 pieces but it is almost complete and stands 225 mm high
Originally (loosely) identified as a a set of tweezers, this find has now been reclassified:
The clip (54 mm long) resembles a pair of tweezers but instead of terminating in points the ends are flat and almost square (16 mm x 17 mm). A ring, which was probably moveable, holds the two arms of the clip together.
Similar clips have been found at a variety of places e.g. London, Winchester, Northampton and York. Often the terminals were decorated although the ones from the amphitheatre are plain. Examples from London and York have been found in contexts dated to the late thirteenth century and mid-fourteenth century respectively.
It has been suggested that these clips were for holding sheets of parchment together or for holding pages down
A possibly medieval iron key. (back to top of page)
A nail from a medieval horseshoe, in a "fiddle key" shape. (back to top of page)
A medieval pen. Believed to be from around the 13th century, made from copper alloy.
This find was excavated a few weeks ago, but it has only just been properly identified. It had previously been identified as many other things, including a medical probe... (back to top of page)
The comb is made in a least three pieces, a tooth and end plate with side plates (either side) that have been riveted to the tooth plate. It is possible that the tooth section may be made of more than one plate but this cannot be determined without cleaning.
The comb is embedded in soil and the visible side is covered in particles of soil. It appears to be in good condition; the only visible damage being that three to four of the narrow teeth are missing broken at one end and a crack to one end of the side plate which passes through the position of a rivet hole. Areas of copper alloy corrosion along the visible side of the side plate appear to represent the position of rivets
The comb is made from antler or bone or possible a combination of both. Cleaning is required before this can be confirmed.
Approximately 70 mm long – from centre of end plate and 37 mm wide at the end plate narrowing to 23 mm across centre of comb. Precise measurements will be obtainable once cleaning has taken place.
Double-sided combs were made from the about the third to the thirteenth centuries. This comb appears to fall into the last few centuries of that range.
At York antler was the preferred material for comb making (MacGregor et al 1999, 1925) and iron for rivets, few examples have copper alloy rivets or were made from bone. The York combs appear in 10th – 12th century contexts and as residual objects in later contexts.
The comb was discovered in an unearthed medieval cess pit [below]
Sherds from the handle of a medieval glazed jug, which dates back to the 14th century. (back to top of page)
The first coin [above] is a copper 'Long-Cross' Penny. The Long-Cross name refers to the cross design stamped onto one side of the coin. Originally coins had smaller crosses (Short-Cross) that didn't extend to the edges of the coin. This was changed around 1247 in favour of the Long-Cross design to guard against the practice of 'clipping', which was when people would snip little bits off the edges of coins, then melt them down into new coins! (back to top of page)
This second coin [above] is another example of a Long-Cross penny. This example, despite it's current appearance, is actually a silver penny dating from the time of Henry III, 1247-72. (back to top of page)
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