Clay sphere
Click ^ for larger image.
This carefully shaped ball of fired clay is something of a mystery. It may simply have been a toy - a marble - created on a whim, but the colours of the clay match other finds at the site that were kiln furniture in the clay tobacco pipe industry. Perhaps this object too had a role in the manufacture process. A chip on the surface (slightly above centre on the left hand image) shows the colouration is not superficial, but runs throughout the fabric of the sphere.
Having seen the exhibit here, archaeologist Noel Boothroyd kindly contacted us, saying the sphere "...definitely is a marble, we found quite a few on domestic sites in Stoke, probably by-products (unofficial?) of the pottery industry (or in this case clay pipe factory)."
Material: ceramic
Period: Modern
Find spot: Hampstead Road, Brislington, Bristol. ST 612710
Exhibit contributed by Ken Taylor
Text written by Ken Taylor, 2012
Photographer: Ken Taylor
Acquisition number: 120226a1