A14 Cambridge to Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire Improvement Scheme: Digital Archive for Archaeological Works

Find Information for small find number 38165

Object: Comb
Accession number: 38165
Material: Bone
Material species: Unidentified Species
Function: Toilet surgical or pharmaceutical instruments
Small find period: Iron Age
Period of stratigraphy: Iron Age
Early date: -800
Late date: 43
Typology: SINGLE-PIECE MADE FROM HUMAN SKULL
Description: Incomplete; W (60)mm; est full W (120)mmm H 48.5mm; Th 7mm; int Diam perf c 9mm. Bone comb, made from a human ?adult cranium parietal bone; fragment is broken across a circular perforation and probably represents just under half the original object; the comb is slightly concavo-convex due to the natural curvature; the top is slightly arched and the existing sideis straight but slightly angled inwards downtowards the teeth. There is surviving evidence for 14 teeth, with spacing at 2.7 teeth/cm. Assuming bilateral symmetry across the perfortion, it is possble to estimate that there may have been something on the order of 30 teeth on the complete comb. The teeth are very short but a few seem to be complete, perhaps suggesting reworking/finishing after a previous break. Also two small ?unrelated frags in box. Cf the bronze comb from Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire (Ashby and Bolton 2010, 235-7, fig 1; 64mm wide; 20 teeth at 3.1/cm) and bone combs from Seacliff, East Lothian (MacGregror 1976, no. 274; 55m wide, 32 teeth at 5.8/cm) and Langbank, Renfrewshire (ibid, no. 275 36mm wide, 15 teeth at 4.1/cm).
Completeness: IC
Weight: 17g
Count of fragments: 1
Method of recovery: Unrecorded - Default assumption is hand collected
Was the object discovered during survey?: 0
Does the object fall under the treasure act?: 0
the object has been discarded?: 0