| Little Thetford flesh hook | |
| Material: | Bronze |
| Size: | Hooked part length:120NaN0 weight:90NaN0 Butt end length:60NaN0 weight:40NaN0 |
| Created: | late Bronze Age (1150950 BC) |
| Discovered: | 1929, Little Thetford |
| Location: | British Museum |
| Id: | CHER 06956 |
The Little Thetford flesh-hook is a late Bronze-Age (1150950 BC) artefact discovered in 1929 in Little Thetford, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. A flesh-hook is a metal hook with a long handle used to pull meat out of a pot or hides out of tan-pits. This particular find is one of 32 other such archaeologically significant finds, scatters, and excavations within 1sqmi of Little Thetford.
The artefact was found by a Mr. Dresser, whilst digging a ditch on reclaimed fenland, at Little Thetford in 1929. Discovered about 9feet down, it consisted of two-parts, connected by the remains of a wooden shaft. The wood remains have not survived; a contemporary wooden shaft has been added by the British Museum for display purposes. The artefact is in the British Museum though is not, as of 2012, on display.[1] Within 1sqmi of Little Thetford, there have been 33 finds of various kinds over the years,[2] such as flints[3] from the Neolithic era through to a windmill[4] of the late Medieval period.
The word flesh-hook is relatively modern. The OED gives the origin of the word as 1325 AD, and defines it as a metal hook with a long stail,[5] used to pull hides out of tan-pits or as a hook for pulling meat from the pot.[6] It may also have been used as a tool to prod animals.[7] The use of this flesh-hook in the Bronze Age can only be speculated.
The metal used in the construction is a bronze alloy, found to be typical of the late Bronze Age. The material was analysed using ICPAES and contained (approximately) 85% copper, 10% tin, 3% lead, and 2% impurities; although the constituents of the individual parts varied around these figures.[8] From an analysis of 36 other Bronze-Age flesh-hooks known to be in existence,[9] the assembled length of hook-part, butt-end, and missing wood part is speculated to be 2.5feet.[8]
The artefact was manufactured by casting, using a mould in a lost-wax (cire perdue) process.[8]
See also: Prehistory. The British Museum dates the artefact within the Bronze Age 1150950 BC.[10] The Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Record database dates the artefact as late Bronze Age 1000–701 BC.[1]