Little Thetford flesh-hook

The Little Thetford flesh-hook is a late Bronze-Age (1150 – 950 BC) artefact discovered in 1929 in Little Thetford, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, England. A flesh-hook is a metal hook with a long handle used to pull meat out of a pot or hides out of tan-pits. This particular find is one of 32 other such archaeologically significant finds, scatters, and excavations within 1 square mile (2.6 km²) of Little Thetford.

Little Thetford flesh hook
Material	Bronze
Size	Hooked part length:12 in (30 cm) weight:9 oz (255 g) Butt end length:6 in (15 cm) weight:4 oz (113 g)
Created	late Bronze Age (1150 – 950 BC)[1]
Discovered	1929, Little Thetford
Present location	British Museum
Identification	CHER 06956

Discovery

The artefact was found by a Mr Dresser, whilst digging a ditch on reclaimed fenland, at Little Thetford in 1929. Discovered about 9 feet (2.7 m) down, it consisted of two-parts, connected by the remains of a wooden shaft. The wood remains have not survived; a contemporary wooden shaft has been added by the British Museum for display purposes. The artefact is in the British Museum though is not, as of 2012, on display.^[2] Within 1 square mile (2.6 km²) of Little Thetford, there have been 33 finds of various kinds over the years,^[3] such as flints^[4] from the Neolithic era through to a windmill^[5] of the late Medieval period.

Uses

The word flesh-hook is relatively modern. The OED gives the origin of the word as 1325 AD, and defines it as a metal hook with a long stail,^[6] used to pull hides out of tan-pits or as a hook for pulling meat from the pot.^[7] It may also have been used as a tool to prod animals.^[8] The use of this flesh-hook in the Bronze Age can only be speculated.

Construction

The metal used in the construction is a bronze alloy, found to be typical of the late Bronze Age. The material was analysed using ICP – AES and contained (approximately) 85% copper, 10% tin, 3% lead, and 2% impurities; although the constituents of the individual parts varied around these figures.^[9] From an analysis of 36 other Bronze-Age flesh-hooks known to be in existence,^[10] the assembled length of hook-part, butt-end, and missing wood part is speculated to be 2.5 feet (0.76 m).^[9]

The artefact was manufactured by casting, using a mould in a lost-wax (cire perdue) process.^[9]

Dating

See also: Prehistory

The British Museum dates the artefact within the Bronze Age 1150 – 950 BC.^[1] The Cambridgeshire Historic Environment Record database dates the artefact as late Bronze Age 1000–701 BC.^[2]

See also

• Dunaverney flesh-hook
• Lost wax casting