Brick-clay lid

Fragment of a brick-clay lid bearing a runic inscription, dated from the 13th-14th century

Global Characteristics

Title:

Brick-clay lid

Place of discovery:

Loon-Plage, Hauts-de-France, France

Date:

Late Middle Ages (second half of the 13th-14th century)

Dimensions:

15cm wide

Materials:

Brick-clay

Description

This fragment belongs to a large circular lid. Its yellow colour suggests the use of clay similar to that employed in the manufacture of bricks for local houses and chimneys.

Its decoration is executed using knige incisions, a technique characteristic of brickmakers. It features radiating lines and small triangular patterns.

Unlike conventional kitchen lids, this brick object was associated with the domestic hearth. The traces of soot along its edge indicate that it covered a vessel placed near the fire.

On its interior face, a runic detail is revealed: a carved sign evoking the symbol of fire.

Characteristic of coastal culture, these objects are found exclusively along the shoreline, from Calais to the Netherlands and northern Germany.