Early Medieval Bone Spoons from Winchester

Abstract

SummaryWinchester has produced six bone spatulate spoons decorated with Ringerike–Winchester style engravings which are, in some cases, dated by their contexts to the eleventh century. The range of motifs and the style of execution suggest they are the work of an individual craftsman. They form part of a sequence of spoons spanning the period from the late Roman to the thirteenth century, but unlike the examples in more precious substances, which have primarily Christian ecclesiastical associations, the wooden and bone spoons of the eleventh century seem, at least from their contexts, to be domestic.