Members' Pages

This page is reserved for contributions from members and school pupils.
The provider of this item would like to hear from anyone who thinks they might be able to help.

JIM BROWN'S 'SPEAR'

In August this year Jim Brown gave us an object he had found in a field at his farm, Pitmeadow, about forty years ago. It had obviously been in the ground for quite some time, and he has kept it in a drawer since then.

At very first glance it looks like the head of a spear, probably cast iron, about a foot long, pointed at one end and the other of a shape which might take a wooden shaft. Jim wanted to know more about it - was it Roman?

An expert at Perth museum thought it was more likely a fairly recent agricultural implement, definitely not Roman and probably not a spear. He said:

"It is probably no older than the 19th century and I am left wondering if it was made as a one-off piece by a local blacksmith. Amongst the deposits adhering to it are some traces of lime mortar suggesting it had some secondary use as an improvised trowel."

Is that the end of the story? Perhaps one of our readers might have seen similar objects elsewhere, or even used one. If so, we hope they'll use the address on our home page to contact us.