The Corpus: Winchester (Old Minster) 51

Volume 4: South-East England

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Current Display: Winchester (Old Minster) 51, Hampshire

Overview

Object type: Fragment of column(?)

Measurements: H. 4.6 > 2 cm (1.8 > 0.8 in); W. 5 > 3.5 cm (2 > 1.4 in); D. 2.3 > 1 cm (0.9 > 0.4 in)

Stone type: Pale brownish-yellow, medium- to coarse-grained, shelly, oolitic limestone; Combe Down Oolite, Great Oolite Formation of the Bath area, Great Oolite Group, Middle Jurassic

Plate numbers in printed volume: Ill. 585

Corpus volume reference: Vol 4 p. 298-299

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Present Location

Winchester City Museum, Historic Resources Centre, Hyde House, Winchester, accessions no. 2943 WS 245

Evidence for Discovery

Found in archaeological excavation north of Winchester cathedral in 1964 in rubble from demolition of nave or baptistery of Old Minster; Final Phase 68-70 (Provisional Phase 1021), twelfth-century

Church Dedication

Old Minster

Present Condition

One bed face with traces of mortar survives; the carved surface is burnt pink, but well preserved.

Description

A twisted column with a diameter of about 5 cm turned in a Z-twist. The flattened bands, c. 2 cm wide, are almost half the diameter.

Discussion

The carving is precisely done, like the S-twist on Winchester (Old Minster) no. 42 (Ill. 569), and others from Winchester. Twisted columns are rare (for discussion, see no. 42), but cable patterns like this have been found at Monkwearmouth 23, co. Durham, dated to the late seventh to ninth centuries (Cramp 1984, i, 132, ii, pl. 124 (684)).

Date

Seventh to ninth century

References

Biddle and Kjølbye-Biddle forthcoming a, fig. 147, no. 51

M.B.; B.K.-B.

Endnotes