The Corpus: Wells 3 (cathedral)

Volume 7: South West England

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Current Display: Wells 3 (cathedral), Somerset

Overview

Object type: Fragment

Measurements: H. c. 16 cm (6.25 in); W. c. 12 cm (4.75 in); D. c. 10 cm (4 in)

Stone type: As Wells 4 below, but slightly more shelly with fragments up to 4 mm across. Bath stone, Chalfield Oolite Formation, Great Oolite Group, Middle Jurassic

Plate numbers in printed volume: Pl. 326

Corpus volume reference: Vol 7 p. 177

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Present Location

In the cathedral store (WC80/1435)

Evidence for Discovery

Recovered in 1980 from the rubble foundation of the late Saxon mortuary chapel, and is likely to have been deposited there in the midtenth century (Rodwell 2001a, 79).

Church Dedication

St Andrew

Present Condition

Fragmentary, only parts of two faces survive.

Description

A (broad):Part of a cable edge and two crossing strands.

B (narrow): Plain but smooth

C (broad): Roughly tooled

D (narrow): Broken off

Discussion

West considered that this could have been part of a decorative panel or grave-cover, but there is nothing to indicate which is more probable when so little remains.

Date

Ninth / tenth century

References

West 2001, 491, no. 3, fig. 488

Endnotes

None