Winchester City Museum, Historic Resources Centre, Hyde House, Winchester, accessions no. 2943 WS 207

Found in archaeological excavation north of Winchester cathedral in 1964 in rubble above robbed baptistery of Old Minster; Final Phase 60-6 (Provisional Phase 1965), late eleventh- to early twelfth-century

Old Minster

No bed face survives. The carved surface is damaged, and whitewash is present in the deeper areas.

A plain band, 2 cm wide, separates a row of colonnettes from a dentil pattern. The colonnettes have bases or (if the carving is envisaged the other way up from its position in Ill. 554) capitals. These are splayed and one has a damaged roll moulding at the transition to the shaft. The colonnettes are about 3 cm wide and are separated one from another by gaps of 0.8 to 1 cm. The dentil pattern consists of 1.5-cm projections separated by rectangular slots, 1 cm wide. The slots have pointed bottoms (some still retaining whitewash).

This is one of several fragments of border patterns or friezes with dentils. They probably form part of miniature baluster friezes like those found at Jarrow (Cramp 1984, i, 118–20, ii, pls. 101–2), dated to the late seventh or early eighth century. Seven of the Winchester pieces of this type, Winchester (Old Minster) nos. 36–8, 40, 42 and 44, come from immediately above or near the Old Minster baptistery, and could be derived from the original mid seventh-century decoration of this part of the church. It is also possible that the present piece is part of an elaborate string-course. For further discussion and references, see Winchester (Old Minster) no. 47.

Seventh century or later

Biddle and Kjølbye-Biddle forthcoming a, fig. 145, no. 36