The Durham River Wear Assemblage
The Durham River Wear Assemblage totals some 14,500 ordinary and extraordinary objects. These typically small metal objects, which transcend the late- and
post-medieval periods, are challenging the way in which we understand Durham's past. The assemblage features many different artefact types and includes such
objects as: Fixtures and Fittings — window cames, spikes, brackets, mounts, hinges and hooks, floor tiles; Security — keys, locks and escutcheon plates;
Kitchen — knives, spoons and ceramics, pot mends; Medical — syringes, ear wax scoops and pins; Writing & Reading — bone stylus, seal matrix and printing
blocks; Leisure — lead toys, buzz discs, lead dice & miniature vessels; Tools — needles, thimbles, spindle whorls, metal & leather working tools and ingots;
Trade — lead cloth seals, bag seals, tokens, lead tokens, coin weights, pan weights, other weights, scales, coins and jetton; Religious Objects — pilgrim
souvenirs, secular bells and crucifix; Animal — bone, shoe and harness equipment; and Dress Accessories — buckles, clasps, pins, beads, strap ends, buttons,
chains, pendants, finger rings, lace chapes, decorative mounts etc.
