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Mystery find: What is this? - 3D model (Patreon)

Published:
2024-01-12 18:42:23
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

We're busy working on our first new episode of Time Team News for 2024, which happens to feature this object. View the model on Sketchfab HERE.

It's about the size of an egg cup, but what on earth is it? Even the experts aren't sure!

Share your guesses in the comments. 

To discover the full context of its discovery, look for the upcoming episode. Full details to follow soon...

In the meantime, this weekend, we're sharing a feature-length compilation of some of our favourite stories from Time Team News over the last six months.

Please join us for a special watch-along tomorrow, Saturday 13th January, at 7pm GMT. Get ready to watch HERE.

TIP

To view all of the 3D models we have released so far, click on the '3D model' tag on this post.

SKETCHFAB TROUBLE-SHOOTING

Double click (or double tap screen) to zoom in on an object and then  left click drag (finger drag) to rotate around the object to view it  from all angles.

Having trouble accessing the model? For more advice on compatibility of devices and browsers, please visit the Sketchfab Help Centre HERE.

Files

Comments

Joanne Kellam

I was going to say a thimble but that would be much smaller than this…

Chef Tess

Looks like a bell.

Sara Neal

Maybe a strap feeds through the bottom?

Barbara Conger

If the bottom portion is correct it looks like some sort of strap ran through it so some sort of decoration for horses bridle perhaps?

Matt Fiscus

I wish there was a photo of it as it qas at time of discovery. I think it could be ether a large button or a broach or could there have been a pebble or a small piece of metal that hung on the pin and so was a bell.

Matt Fiscus

If you rotate the 3D model you would see that 1) the bottom is sealed. 2) that there's a "cotter" pin like thing going across the inside 90° from what looks like slits for a belt or cloth strap.

Anne Dexter

I thought it might be a decorative end to a stair rod or curtain rail? It would help to know composition of metal and approximate age.

Anja Adam

Maybe the pommel of a sword?

Chris Brown

It reminds me of a candle snuffer

Jane Parker

Well something, leather thongs etc go inside, round the bar and back out again. So us it some sort of end of a plaited leather belt/tie?

CCZ

It would be good to know the time period it may belong to. But I agree it is either a bridle decor, or a button on a ceremonial / Royal robe or mantle?

Eggs Ackley

I will go in another direction and propose it is part of a musical instrument.🎷🥁🎻

Mika

Does the decoration motif have a meaning? It looks like a stylized snake, or a flower? The two slits at the bottom make it look like it would be tied to something... Oh, I know, it's a ritual object!

Wessex-Wyvern

Hmm... The bottom looks button-y and the little rod inside is interesting. Maybe attached to something with wire (I can't think how it could be sewn onto something). What time period is it from?

Bob Pockney

Yes, that pin is significant. Inserted after a strap is fed through to hold it in place ? I'm going for horse bridle decoration.

Deborah Foster

It’s a decorative rather than functional object. I agree with the strap idea, but it seems to be intended to be viewed from below. It seems a bit delicate for horse gear. I can imagine it suspended from the roof of a cart, a processional pole or flagstaff, or from a canopy.

Michael Beaumont

Perhaps Celtic in origin with the Triskelion swirls. Religious maybe. Could possibly hang with a pin thru the the tube, holes upward as an incense holder. Perhaps, maybe, I dunno..

Bob Greaves

It's interesting that the top third (assuming it's the right way up in the sketch) is more worn away than the rest. It feels to me like it could be intended to hang, perhaps like a loom weight, with thread going through the slots, round the pin and back out. That might explain the greater wear if it's been rubbing on the floor over a long time?

Greg Waselkov

A decorative belt toggle end piece

Diane Sullivan

Bell mounted on a clock via rod in holes in the side.

Shannon Wells

size of an egg cup... are there any other examples? was it a grave good? I agree with the others that the bottom would indicate some sort of strap should go through it. I guess it could be a bell but I doubt it would make a good bell sound because of the bottom being closed. I'm having trouble visualizing where it could be worn but my guess is based on the amount of decoration, if it's worn it would be ceremonial or worn by a chieftain or other high-status individual. Maybe it's part of some horse gear. Agree the design is a Celtic one. Maybe it would be worn on the shoulders... my first thought was some type of fancy shield boss but it's too small for that.

Clive McIntyre

It is intended to be mounted on something. When viewed from below, it looks like the small hole in its side is lined up at 90 degrees to the slots as if two tangs or tabs would slot into the base, and it would be held in place by a pin knocked through the small hole. It could be on a ceremonial staff of office. Possibly a dagger or knife pommel end but decorative rather than functional.

M.F. McCune

Agree about decorative rather than functional, and have considered Michael B's suggestion of incense holder (though I think incense "sticks" are unlikely?). But the horizontal pins appear to encourage stringing them together while the slots, for tying the string of objects on to something else.

Andy Woodhead

Yes. That sounds credible to me. If the base was removable then the pin might be fixed in place. The strap could be fed through the base slot, over the pin and then back through the other slot in the base ensuring the cone and base remain attached.

D Dunn

Thimble ???

Mike Darby

I was thinking that whatever this is could be attached to something, by a wire looped through the slots and over the internal "rod", which would be very secure .... but the picture looks like it is a tube, a tube would be weaker, but also harder to make. Soooo.... if the rod is a tube I must be wrong??? A mystery!

Caroline W

A baby’s rattle? Ribbons or a teething handle might be attached to the two slots.

Donna Shelton

What a stunning item. The designs look Bronze age to me, but the fabrication seems a bit more sophisticated than that. I'm leaning towards some kind of adornment, based upon the opening at the base of the time. Before I had a better idea of the item's total dimensions and design, it looked like the most fabulous thimble!

Donna Shelton

Just had another thought. Could it have been used to carry herbs or medicine? The assembly looks like the bottom could be removed for refills, and the slots could have been shaker openings? Can't wait to learn more about this beauty.

Mea Cadwell

My son says it looks like a middle-eastern bell, possibly a "klaptoan"

Mal Function

Interesting. Do we know what it's made from ? Silver, steel, pewter ? The base seen from underneath looks of moden manufacture compared to the top. It seems too precisely made to be ancient. The holes in the side where the rod connects to the outside look like they've been drilled through a pre-existing design.

Sacha Messialle

looks a bit like a central asian middle eastern religious bell to me

Mick Holden

Details that stand out to me: 1. The curved end is very evenly worn down all around the sides and top. Possible causes? A. It sat with the curved end DOWN, in a stand, rack, or case, which rubbed against it regularly. B: It was attached to something, with the curved end UP, where it was touched frequently. The wear pattern is consistent with a hand resting on the pommel of a blade (such as a dagger or sword). 2. The rod looks to have been added at a much later date. Too much thought and craftsmanship went into decorating this piece to then crudely punch that through the middle of the design (note the direction of the punch is easy to see). There is also no wear around those holes or the ends of the rods like there is with the rest of the object. 3. The flat cap piece also appears to have been added later. There is no noticeable wear along the rim, the decorative edging, or the slots. There is so little wear, that it's very possible the object was lost not long after the rod and cap were added. I look forward to hearing more about the context of this find.

Steve Prowse

<blockquote> Facetious </blockquote> This post arrived as I was opening this item <img>https://photos.app.goo.gl/vGt2Zaaa1SUQW8ut9 So a sleigh paper holder (tablet) <blockquote> Facetious off</blockquote> I first thought thimble but the slots on the bottle look like something that attaches to a shield or statue or shrine Looking forward to what it actually is

Taz

It looks like a giant thimble. Maybe used to push a weaving shuttle?

Fushigi

My proposal: It's the handle of a cane or walking stick. The slots in the bottom are for the jam fit of tangs carved in the end of the stick. The roll pin sticks through holes in the tangs (which act as a clevis) to fasten the fancy handle. Explains the more polished top (where it was handled) the less polished sides, the total lack of decor on the bottom, which rests against the stick, and the odd slots which the roll pin are perpendicular to.

TerryInUSA

Several of these were found in 1958 on St. Ninians Island in the Shetlands - part of a silver "hoard" dating from late Roman to early Medieval time period. Following is the video about the finds. They display three of these objects but unfortunately skip over them when describing all the other objects - guess they haven't identified them, either! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqw7cwYbWzo

Lisa Wilson

I'm leaning shield hilt. Does the top or tip screw off?

Jane Anders

As they look like they are mounted to something I am going with a horse harness

Robert Ernest Arthur Harvey

There is a trough pin visible inside. It is obviously meant to be secured to two tangs or tenons through the two slots on the base. Those are too small for the tennons to be wood, and probably too small to be for bone. So Metal, then. Steel, probably It is possibly a cap for a sceptre, or wand, but I lean toward a sword pommel. The only puzzle in such an explanation is "where is the rest of it?". If the steel and silver have been intentionally separated, presumably for re-use, /why is the pin still inside/?

Deborah Foster

Thanks for sharing the video, patchworkUSA.

Deborah Foster

After viewing the video linked by patchworkUSA, I have a few thoughts. The St. Ninian’s hoard trio show one with the same tube insert as this one. They are quite decorative and more elaborate than our example. But they are also unmatched to one another. (To me this suggested these objects may have used individually rather than strung together. But the items in a hoard might be miscellaneous.)

Fushigi

I had the thought that the tangs had to be organic and had decayed away, because the roll pin was present. I was guessing a walking stick cap, which would hardwood (rose, basswood, oak or the like) and therefore might be strong enough for tangs of that size. Now that I think more, another explanation might be that the roll pin secures end loops in cordage tying this to something. The question becomes, why two slots? It made sense for the hardwood (a clevis tends to work better with two tangs than one) but I can't come up with a reason for two slots with cordage.

Patricia Amero

wow! Lots of compelling food for thought in your comment... 🙏 cheers Mick

Patricia Amero

Thank you for this lovely unexpected rabbit hole of discovery. 🙏

Patricia Amero

LOVE reading the comments... one of the many reasons I appreciate TT Patreon is like-minded people who respect each other's POV and are willing to share knowledge & experience with us all. No arguments, no disrespect, just a safe place to listen, learn and share. How great is THAT? 💞 I'm proud to be here.

Elizabeth Esser

I think it looks like a beautiful bell. — Amity, age 8🔔

Greg Waselkov

Functioning like a Japanese netsuke or a Chinese belt toggle, for a rope or narrow cloth strap belt that would feed through the slot in the base of this specimen.

sigterm

I'm pretty sure it's something ... ritual. It's all about the ancestors ... ;) At first sight, it cries "thimble" to me ... but in the size of an egg cup? this would be a huge finger! Maybe it's something like a sword pommel ... or a decorative cap on the end of a knife handle or some other table instrument.

Matt Cooper

I want to say a weight to measure a form of payment ? Because it looks like you could put rope through the bottom ?

Trygve Henriksen

Agree. This looks as if someone repurposed an older piece. No one who makes such a decorated outside will then just drill holes through the design in that way. A craftsman would have made a design where the holes were part of it, blending it in properly.

Mea Cadwell

Ya know, you could be on to something here. I could totally see this on a horse harness with other matching ones.

Murray M Wagnon

I might be a pommel, or the tip of a pommel from a sword.

Artesian

It'my Grandma's darning knob.

Jon Zephanius

Yeah and if you turn the 3D render upsidedown, the bottom is not hollow--it's closed, so not possible to be a thimble

Margaret Brown

My guess is part of decorative horse harness, or clothes fastening, but only a guess no idea really

John Kotick

Iron Age birth control;)

Mick Holden

Excellent video find! He does very briefly say that they believe they are scabbard tips. Due to the wear pattern, I was thinking along the lines of a blade pommel (or something else a hand would rest upon), but a decorative scabbard tip might get just as much wear on the bottom end. That would also explain the slots and hollow pin - the bottom of the scabbard halves could have been placed into the slots, with the pin pushed through and secured with thread/sinew.

Simon Piggott

It looks like there is more wear around the conical end and with what seems to be a spindle inside, it almost looks like a bobbin for spooling thread.

Melissa Spray

Probably a decorative fitting or a button of some sort...but clearly one that was reworked multiple times, from an older piece. There's a band of decoration that is clearly not the same as that on the lower part of base. It doesn't appear to be just wear, unless the entire band somehow stuck up above a surface and was sandblasted, while somehow not abrading the top part as much...and if you take the decoration from the "cap" part, you can almost match it to the decorations from the part below that strangely less detailed part of the lower portion. The spirals in that band are not as good quality work...they're uneven and wobbly, in comparison to the rest. There unfortunately isn't any detail on the size of the object other than "about the size of an egg cup"...or I'd say it was thimble reworked into some kind of decoration. It looks to me like the bar (Or is it a tube?) going across the base inside of it was added later...especially since it's punched right through sections of the design, instead of integrated (through the birds eyes is where I'd have put it) into it. My guess is that the upper part was damaged, they took off the top and added the bands around it to reinforce it, and added a row of spirals to make it a bit bigger, then, at some later time, added the base to attach it to a bit of harness with a strap (reminds me of the way you attach conchos to leather), and then later added the tube/rod through it to attach it like a large button with cords or thong.

Pauline R

My theory is that it's a hand-held marking and measuring tool, perhaps for a tailor. I want to print it out and test my idea, but I'm imagining it like this: 1. As the metal rod was inserted the first time, two wheels made of hard felt or other suitable material were added to the rod, making it an axle. 2. The wheels were sized so that they fit snuggly against the edge surfaces of the two slots in the base. (A matching interior circumference would explain the sloping cuts on the slots, and hard felt would get shaved down to a perfect fit by the edges of the slots.) 3. Then the pin would be snugly fit in place (to avoid leaking powder) and given a final shaping jon the ends to blend into the pattern. 4. The chamber was filled with chalk.5. The base was added and permanently sealed. The finished object would be held flat side down and rolled/slid (glided? glid?) across a bolt of cloth, leaving behind a chalked pattern, complete with standard seam allowance. The soft nature of the materials could account for the "new" appearance of many surfaces, if there aren't any modern tool marks. Depending on the qualities of the wheels, that amount of chalk could last quite a long time. Eventually, however, it would need to be refilled, perhaps like this: 6. The pin axle would be hammered out on one or both sides, allowing for more chalk to be added through the slots. Then the pin would be tapped back into place. 7. Over a series of refills, the area around the axle holes could become gouged from this process. It could also create striations on the pin. 8. Eventually it went out of use and ended up in the dirt by whatever route it took. (I don't have any inside knowledge of how this item features in the next episode, but I'm fairly certain it includes dirt.) Organic wheels like felt would have completely decomposed, and - depending on what particular flavor of dirt it was in - any residual chalk might not have been noticed. It sounds good in my head, but my theory could completely fall apart if the measurements are wrong for stuff to fit together. I'll admit right now that this is the first time I've closely analyzed something in Sketchfab, and I'm completely new to anything beyond spinning, panning and zooming in/out. If there's a way to measure things (and certainly there must be), I didn't find it. Newbie admission: I read some of the other comments and couldn't figure out how the heck you were seeing so much, and I spent a good ten minutes trying to peek in through the slots before I realized I could go inside it and change the view settings. So yeah, I'm going to go look at some tutorials now. If there are links to other training resources you'd recommend, please drop them my way. And let me know what you think of my crazy idea!

Pauline R

My partner concluded it was a piano tuner. No idea how she reached that conclusion, though.

Eggs Ackley

Sounds plausible to me👍😊 Sure would be nice to know the context in which it was found.

Eggs Ackley

Great analysis! You, your partner and I will probably be very surprised if it is ever definitively identified but we tried🧐

Emily Flotilla

That's what I wondered about too. My grandma called it a darning egg. The decorations seem a bit too elaborate for such a utilitarian device though, don't they?

Joseph Gilbert

possibly the base of a supported spindle.

Michael Beaumont

It must be a garnet as it has the same makeup as the description in Episode 7:secret Saxon Gold on the T.T. Special.

Kit DuBhran

Something decorative, whether a practical item that’s decorative or an item that is completely for decor. A decorative pommel piece or the end of a decorative scabbard could be an option. Looks like it’s intended to attach to something else. Either permanently and it’s fallen off, or something that can be removed as needed.

Jeff Groves

I think it is some kind of ornamental button. If the two holes in the bottom are really part of the item, then it looks like the thread is fed up through the two oval holes and wrapped around the pin across the bottom of the domed-shaped portion.

Lorna Dryden

Maybe that’s exactly what it is, an egg cup

Lorna Dryden

Medicinal herbs already brewed?

Carlos

Could it be a seal matrix? The personal seal with upstanding loops on the back would push through the slots and then be secured by the pin. This would be used to stamp a seal in wax. There are examples of seal matrices with loops on the back from the medieval period.

Bob

Banner pole cap?

Graham Dombkins

With that internal cross beam and what looks to be a double slit for a strap. To me it looks like some form of bell.

Simply Nancy

An incenser? I just saw pictures of a similarly egg shaped opium vessel scroll past in my newsfeed. I don't know how big the hole/straw through the thing is, but I wonder if a string could be threaded through it, or perhaps something else to hold it. Then it would hang egg side down and smoke could be released though the slots

Okasan Willis

possibly something to drink from and pass around. The rounded bottom acting like the Viking, Saxon drinking horns