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Fetching coin data
Dark grey ware with slightly burnished surface and, although wheel-made, stands somewhat unevenly on account of inequalities in the finish of the foot-ring. There is a distinct shoulder below the neck and a " kick-up" at the base. The only decoration is a pair of parallel shallow girth grooves. It shows evident traces of its Belgic antecedents and the closest parallel which can be found for its shape is Richborough No. 249, which is of Flavian date. The South Ferriby vessel has a recurved, instead of oblique rim, but can hardly have been made at a later time than the late first or early second century A.D.
It weighs 4.927 grammes and measures internally 2 cm. from side to side and 1.9 cm. from top to bottom. The hoop is plain, c. 1 mm. in thickness, 3.5 mm. wide at the bottom and widening to 5.5 mm. at the shoulders. The internal surface is flat, the hammer-marks being plainly visible, and the external convex. At the bottom a repair has been effected in base metal in ancient times. The bezel consists of a solid rectangular piece of silver, 8 mm. by 7 mm. and 2 mm. thick, with slightly undercut sides. It has a flat top which bears a very crude engraved device within a border of engraved or punched dots. The design appears to represent on the left a bird turned right and on the right a tree. The bird is shown with two flippers and its head is rendered in a similar manner. If the poise of such a crude figure is significant the bird might be a cormorant or penguin; the" tree'' is probably intended to be a branch. The identification of the group as a dove and sprig of olive, presumably a Christian motif, is possible, but makes an even greater call upon the imagination.
Roberston dataset, imported by J. Mairat. IARCH dataset, AHRC funded University of Leicester and British Museum project. Imported and edited by M. Spoerri (June 2019 / Nov. 2024). Updated by C. Gazdac(Apr. 2025).
