Copper alloy lock plate from mounted lock for a small box. One corner is damaged. The raised central part is fitted with two hooked bars. The hook of the bar near the damaged corner is missing. There is a keyhole in the centre. Both margin and centre are ornamented with patterns of linear sunken rope decoration. The plate was fixed by four small rivets, all now missing. Found in a 13th to 14th century pit. From VR72-80, Victoria Road, Winchester, Hampshire. Excavated by Winchester Museums Archaeology Section, 1972-1980.
Plate for a lock of copper-alloy
Medieval, possibly 13th to 14th century
Found in the 1970s during excavations by Winchester Museums Archaeology Section at Victoria Road, Winchester, Hampshire
Locks and keys from archaeological sites are more usually made of iron for added strength, but this copper-alloy lock must have come from a delicate small box or casket. The box itself would have been made of a perishable material, most likely wood, which has not survived.
