File:A late medieval or post medieval trough for a cage bird(front, reverse) (FindID 212053).jpg

English: A partially crushed lead alloy(?) trough for a cage bird. Originally, the trough appears to have been D-shaped in section. The base retains the basic D-shape, albeit in a rather flattened form. The object has a (now crushed) opening at the top. There is a tapering rim below the opening on the curved sides of the trough. This adjoins walls which also taper (but less markedly) towards the base. Between the rim and the walls of the trough, two narrow ribs run horizontally around the curved section. The reverse of the trough is now distorted but appears to have been flat originally. The trough has a dull light brown surface, but where the trough has been recently damaged the surface has a grey/silver appearance. The maximum dimens are, length: 35.9mm, width:51.5mm, breadth: 15.7mm. It weighs 71.98g. In "Material Culture in an Age of Transition", Egan (2005,p 128) states: "These D-sectioned vessels, slightly flaring from the base, were for holding water, green plants or seed for cage birds." He adds that decorated troughs seem to date from the late 15th/16th centuries and later, while plainer versions continue at least until the late 17th century. The trough discussed here is of the undecorated type, and similar to item 617 shown in "Material Culture in an Age of Transition". The cited parallel was from an unstratified deposit. The trough recorded here is likely to be from the late medieval or the post medieval period - c.1450-1700.