it is flattened out into a triangular shape. This flattened portion was evidently inserted in a wooden handle. A very well-made example of a similar tool is shown in Plate LIX., Fig. 12. It measures 7½ inches long. The upper portion is square in section and somewhat tapered to allow for insertion in a socket. It came from the ditch of the early fort. In Fig. 6, which was found in Pit LV, we have perhaps part of the handle of an auger. It is obviously a socket through which a cross-bar of wood would be inserted. Fig. us possibly a wedge.
Two blades of planes were found in the ditch of the early fort. One of these (Plate LIX., Fig. 2) is 5¾ inches in length, and was designed to cut mouldings one inch wide. The other (Plate LIX., Fig. 15), which is 3¼ inches long and slightly curved, is composed of two pieces of metal, 1⁄8 of an inch thick, which have been welded together, the back plate being made to describe a wider curve than the front one. The same ditch yielded a single example of a file (Plate LIX., Fig. 5). It measures 7¾ inches long and 5⁄8 of an inch at its widest part. Another carpenter's tool—unfortunately imperfect—is a wrench for extracting nails (Plate LIX., Fig. 17). It came from Pit XIV, while a good specimen of an awl with a metal haft (Plate LIX., Fig. 16) was found in Pit XLIV. This last, which measures 41⁄8 inches in length, probably belonged to a shoemaker.
Knives
The number of knives of varying shapes and sizes was considerable. Eleven are illustrated on Plate LX. Two of the largest (Figs. 1 and 3) are from the pit in the Principia (No. I). Fig. 3, which measures with its handle 13 inches in length, is shaped rather like a modern carving-knife, and has its haft covered with plates of bone. Fig. 1 has a blade 8 inches long with a short tang for insertion into a wooden handle. Both are probably butcher's knives. Two knives (Figs. 2 and 6) are from the ditch of the early fort. Fig. 6, which is 7½ inches long, is finished at the end with a ring for suspension, while on the flat handle are remains of the rivets that have held the bone mountings. Of such mountings we have a fragment with incised decoration from the ditch of the early fort (Plate XCIII., Fig. 7). The blade, with its downward curve, recalls the form of some modern Asiatic knives. This type of knife is common on sites in Germany dating from the second half of the first century. That it was also in use in this country has long been known. Three well preserved specimens from London are illustrated in the catalogue of the Guildhall Museum.[1] An example complete,
1 Plate xvii. figs. 6, 7 and 8.
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