wicker lid-3

Artefact Alive

What was discovered was a unique example of skilled woodworking and basketry techniques of the 13th or 14th century. A willow frame with jointed corners contained thin wooden slats retained in slots cut into the sides of the frame. Spaces between the slats were then filled with tightly packed woven willow rods. In the middle were the remains of a plaited willow handle. There was no metal at all in the lid: even the hinges were probably willow rods or another organic material which threaded through a hole in the side of the wooden frame.

The lid would originally have been about 55-60cm long and just over 27cm wide when complete, but the depth of the box it covered cannot be estimated. The walls of the box might have been of the same construction as the lid or possibly of solid wood planks.

There is no other lid of this type known in England or Europe but the technique of mortice and tenon construction goes back many centuries. We can only guess at the use of the box; willow is still popular for storing household linen so perhaps we should imagine it in the corner of a timber-framed room, away from the damp, full of fine linen interleaved with lavender and other sweet-smelling herbs.

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Find number 1976.7, 778; catalogue number 8931. Length 330mm, width 273mm.
For more information see: The Archaeology of York 17/13, Wood and Woodworking in Anglo-Scandinavian and Medieval York by C.A. Morris (2000), and 10/5, Buildings and Land Use at and around 16-22 Coppergate by R.A. Hall and K. Hunter-Mann.