Well, I'm stumped about this find of Darryl's:
This declaration comes after another afternoon spent in the library, searching through excavation reports and museum catalogs. My toes are now cold, my eyes have gone fuzzy and I have a concert to get ready for tonight (the joys of staying in the city during the summer).
However, I can officially say that the find WAS NOT an incense shovel (see yesterday's post), as it simply lacks many of the defining features of such an object. For example, NEC's has four sides, while ALL other shovels have only three (better to scoop with). NEC's is too deep (3.7 cm) and lacks solid sides.
In my research, I did come across a Byzantine example of an incense shovel. It is so ridiculous looking, I thought it worth sharing with you, dear reader:
Clearly, NEC's find looks nothing like this shovel. Nevertheless, there is a certain lack of finesse that joins these two objects and I am willing to hazard a guess that NEC's "find" is from the Byzantine period and not earlier.
But what are our other options? Dr. Schuler and I are now leaning towards some sort of burner: the holes in the side could have provided air to reach the coals with incense lying over top. The handle is also mostly hollow, which would have allowed somebody to pick the object up without burning their hands.
Now, how I am going to prove this hypothesis reveals many complications. With my last assignment, I had specific phrases that I could call the pendant/amulet, thereby narrowing my search. This time, I do not know WHAT to call this artifact (Brazier? Censer? Lamp? Incense burner?), which translates into flipping through as many books as possible (the library staff is going nuts with the amount of material I am pulling from the shelves - oh well, it gives them a little exercise). An archaeologist's worst nightmare, indeed.
Finally, and I should probably have mentioned this sooner, but anybody who has questions, queries, comments or other items of note, feel free to send them to my email address (Kristina.Neumann@cuw.edu) and I will be happy to answer as best I can.
In the meantime, phoey.
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