MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Stanley]

Some sort of large nut? Have I seen these covered with carvings?

[Tizer]

No, it's not a nut.

[chinatyke]

Is it something from your geology collection? If so, is it a piece of volcanic rock that has rolled down a slope?

[Tizer]

No, it isn't natural in origin.

[Wendyf]

It looks like a well used bowling ball.

[Tizer]

I agree that's what it looks like, Wendy! But no, it's not one of those.

[plaques]

I'm not sure but the top bit with the hole in it looks like a lid of some kind and the ball itself could be an earthenware pot. The guess is some kind of incense burner holder.

[PanBiker]

Is it a gourd?

[chinatyke]

How big is it?
A bead with holes for threading it?

[Stanley]

My first thought was Dinosaur crap but you say it isn't natural so I'll go for a hollow cannon ball, the hole is for the fuse.

[Cathy]

A very old Easter Egg

[Gloria]

Is it a weight which was put on the end of a halter rope when a cow was tied up to stop the rope coming undone, and give the cow a bit of movement by keeping the rope tight and so not getting entangled, so it could lie down?

[Tizer]

You're an inventive and imaginative lot, aren't you? I like the wide range of suggestions but none of them is correct except for Plaques suggesting `earthenware pot'. It's a globe-shaped pottery object with, as you can see, a hole in the top and is of Roman origin. It was found buried in a hole in the ground in Britain. Think about what the Romans buried before they left...

[Cathy]

A money box, well not really a box but somewhere to keep your money.

[PanBiker]

Is it a receptacle for votive offerings?

[chinatyke]

Think about what the Romans buried before they left...

It's a container for bath plugs.

[PanBiker]

There's a thought, maybe the receptacle for the spongia (sponge on a stick)?

[Tizer]

Good ideas, guys, but...Cathy, well done for getting it right with `money box'. It is a money box that was found buried with a hoard of Roman coins. In fact the photo shows a reconstruction - the archaeologists probably had to smash the original box to get the coins out!

[Stanley]

That was a good one!

[Cathy]

Somebody bring on the next one, I want to try for a 'Hat Trick'.

[Stanley]

Your wish is my command! Try this oldie....

[Cathy]

Used in Leatherwork. A hole punch.

[Gloria]

Leather punch.

[Wendyf]

Olive or cherry stoner.

[Stanley]

Sorry Cathy and Gloria.... Wendy has it right, for stoning olives or cherries......
(I did try to bowl you a straight ball Cathy..... )