If you want to use this site please update your browser!
0 0
  • $
  • C$
  • £
  • $
  • C$
  • £
  • $
  • C$
  • £
  • $
  • C$
  • £
  • $
  • C$
  • £
21.08.2021

Stone Lamp

This well-crafted lamp, dating from the medieval period, was unearthed during excavations carried out in the 1970s at the archaeological section of the Winchester Museum on Victoria Road in Winchester, Hampshire.

The lamp is made from fine-grained limestone quarried at Caen in Normandy, indicating its high-quality craftsmanship. The presence of such a lamp suggests that the house from which it originated may have been well-furnished and likely belonged to a relatively affluent individual.

Historical records suggest that in 1362, the tenant of a house on Victoria Road was a prosperous individual named William le Horner. William was noted as an innkeeper, brewer, tapster, and townsman. It is possible that this lamp was owned by him or one of his relatives.

The lamp features an octagonal bowl with a concave well and a central deep depression. Its handle is also octagonal, with four long sides alternating with four short sides. The end of the handle has a hole at right angles for hanging. It was found in a pit dating from the 15th to 16th centuries. Interestingly, stone lamps like this one, found in excavations in Winchester prior to 1972, were seldom found with evidence of burning, suggesting that they likely contained removable reservoirs for holding fuel.

UP