The keys – but to what?

Good old Norman is what we say. He has found so many interesting items with his metal detector, and passed them on to us.

Today we look at a couple of keys.

Two 12th century keys found in Market Lavington

Norman has always been careful with information. He has taken items to the finds officer at Devizes and has these keys dated to about the 12^th century. They are something like 900 years old.

They are small keys – about 7cm long – certainly not the large church door type keys of old. These must have been used to lock away personal items in some kind of cupboard or cabinet or maybe a small chest or casket.

There is not much more irritating than losing a key. It means you have to break in to your own item and render it useless as a safe and secure storage place. So no doubt one or two 12^th century people were really annoyed that these keys jumped out of their pocket or bag and got lost in a field, somewhere in Market Lavington

 

Tags: 12th century, keys, Market Lavington, metal, Metal Detector