Spindle-Whorl

Date43-409

MediumIron, lead

ClassificationsTools and manufacturing

Terms

Object numberC00722

DescriptionTapering spindle made of iron. It has an eyelet and lead whorl. Found in Tokenhouse Yard in 1865. London.

A spindle is a long staff used for the production of threads. Particularly, it is used to spin fibres such as flax, wool and cotton. They tend to be weighted with a 'whorl' though this is not always the case. In the Roman world, the spindle was called the 'fusus', while the whorl was called the 'verticillus'.

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