8. Tool o( imccrlain purpose. Iron; small, slightly 

 curved blade with no cutting edge, flat on one side 

 and slightly convex on the other; rectangular- 

 sectioned handle or tang extending from one corner 

 and narrowing to a thin strip that is bent over into 

 an angular hook.'"" It has been suggested that this 

 tool may have been used by bricklayers for scoring 

 the mortar between the bricks. N3. 



9. Skewer. Iron; rectangular-sectioned, )« inch thick; 

 drawn out at top and shaped into a scroll-like hook. 

 J2. Skewers of this type were common in the 18th 

 century, and were sold in sets, suspended from an 

 ornamental, wrought-iron hanger. 



10. Horseshoe. Iron; keyhole type; the heels slightly 

 rising; four nail holes on either side, fullered. 

 N3. The presence of this shoe in the Rosewcll pit 

 is of interest in that it fails to support the often 

 heard contention that in Tidewater Virginia it 

 was unnecessary for horses to be shod because there 

 were no stony or paved roads to damage their 

 hooves.'"' It should be noted that the keyhole 

 form of the Rosewell shoe was not the only shape 

 favored in the 18th century and was. in fact, less 

 common than the more narrow conxentional type. 

 A shoe of this form was found in a refuse pit of about 

 1740 at Tutter's Neck near Williamsburg during 

 excavations in 1960. 



11. Link from large chain. C'.arefully worked lap- 

 joint at one end; the other end .so worn by friction 

 from the next link that the iron is practically worn 

 through; diameter % inch at widest point. CI. 



12. Plate. Iron; rectangular; roughly trimmed at the 

 edges and pierced by five nail holes, one at each 



■'"' Another example was found by this writer in the destruc- 

 tion of a house on Duke of Gloucester Street, WilliamsbuiR, 

 that burned in February 1776. Until shortly before the fiie 

 the building had been the house or shop of Peter Scott, a 

 cabinet-maker. Three further specimens have since been 

 found — one at Tutter'.s Neck, James City County, in a context 

 of about 1725-1735, and two others at Clay Bank, Gloucester 

 County, in a deposit of about 1700. 



"" There is, however, literary evidence that such was the 

 case in the early 18th century. Hugh Jones in The Present 

 Slate of Virginia, London, 1724 (edited by Richard L. Morton, 

 Chapel Hill, 1956), p. 14, when describing Governor Spotwood's 

 celebrated ride over the .Appalachians, made the following 

 statement: "For this Expedition they were obliged to provide a 

 great Quantity of Horse-shoes (Things seldom used in tlie 

 lower Parts of the Country, where there are few Stones:) 

 Upon which Account the Governor upon their Return pre- 

 sented each of his Companions with a golden Horse-Shoe." 



corner and the fifth in the center; measures 3;'^ by 2% 

 inches; slightlv down-curved at the shorter sides; of 

 uncertain use.'"* The workrnanship on this item 

 closelv allies it with the fragments of iron waste 

 illustrated in fig. 23 and indicates that it, too, 

 comes from the local forge. C2. 



13. Plate. Iron; rectangular; roughly trimmed at the 

 edges and pierced by four nail holes, one at each 

 corner; measures 4y^ by 3'% inches; markedly curved 

 at its shorter sides, suggesting that it may have been 

 some kind of protecti\e plate, perhaps from an axle 

 hub. Comparable to the smaller example (no. 12). 

 A2. 



14. Rod. Iron; probably a curb from a Pelham or 

 curl.) bit. 18th century. Surface. 



15. Punch. Iron; the head spread and iiirling from 

 constant use; the shaft round-sectioned at the top, 

 tapering and four-sided towards the end; the point 

 of percussion somewhat concave; weight 1 pound 

 7 ounces. This is alm.ost certainly a farrier's 

 punch.'"'' B2. 



16. Band. Iron; circular; 



inch ill width and 



slightly tapering; pierced by three small nail holes, 

 two opposite each other and the third midway 

 between them. The object presumabK' was used 

 to encircle the end of a tapering pole. N2. 



17. Bar. Iron; with countersunk nail or rivet holes 

 at either end; slightly bowed; metal much decayed, 

 but original thickness proliably about 'o inch; of 

 uncertain purpose. E2. 



18. Tine from agricultural fork. Rectangular-sec- 

 tioned towards the top; % by %( inch; tapering 

 and becoming round-sectioned towards the point. 

 The curvature at the top is inherent in the object, 

 suggesting" that the fork was of the dished variety. 

 K2. 



19. Bolt. Iron; a washer welded to the shaft % inch 

 below the top to form the head; shaft square- 

 sectioned beneath the head, quickly becoming 

 round-sectioned; threaded length \%^ inches; diam.- 

 eter approximately Ym inch. F2. 



'"- A vague parallel is illustrated by Kenneth E. Kidd {The 

 Excavation of St. Marie I, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 

 1949, p. 100 and pi. 37, top). That piece measured 6'2 by 

 5^4 inches and may have been a part of a box or cupboard. 

 It came from the site of a Jesuit mission, in Canada, that ex- 

 isted only during the years 1639-1649. .An almost e.xact 

 parallel was found in Williansburg excavations in 1961 (Exca- 

 vation Register 384C.15A) in a context of 1750-1765. 



103 See tool illustrated in Diderot's Encyclopedie, vol. 7 (Paris, 

 1769), pi. 4, fig. 19. 



224 



BULLETIN 225: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



