A fragment of an arm form a set of scales found in Cromwell, Nottinghamshire. (c) Portable Antiquities Scheme, CC BY-SA 4.0
A fragment of an arm form a set of scales found in Cromwell, Nottinghamshire. (c) Portable Antiquities Scheme, CC BY-SA 4.0

Scale Arm Fragment (DENO-0619F7)

A fragment of an arm from a set of scales found in Cromwell, Nottinghamshire

Folding balances of the type to which this arm belongs are known from the late Anglo-Saxon period and are quite common from the medieval period. The dating of this artefact is therefore somewhat problematic.

Scales were a common commerical tool and would have been an important part of any exchange whether using a monetary system or a bullion system, such as the one that existed in Viking-occupied areas of England.

Object Type

Balance

Date

circa 700 — 1300

Ascribed Culture

Original/Reproduction

Original

Material

Collection

Viking Objects

Current Location

Private Ownership

Keywords

copper_alloy, Economy, Lincolnshire, Portable_Antiquities_Scheme, scales, trade

Further information

You can see the original at Private Ownership.

Acknowledgements

(c) Portable Antiquities Scheme, CC BY-SA 4.0

References

Portable Antiquities Scheme

MacGregor, Arthur, Ellen Bolick, Catherine Mortimer, Nick Pollard. A summary catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon collections (non-ferrous metals). (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1993), p. 257.

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