File:Medieval ampulla (plan and reverse). (FindID 794369).jpg

English: Medieval (late 12th to 15th centuries) ampulla: The lead ampulla is incomplete, the upper portion is missing. In plan the lower half is sub-circular with an integral, narrowed, elongated trapezoid which forms the upper portion of the ampulla. However this trapezoid is obliquely angled and has probably cut at this angle. On one side, of the trapezoid portion, there is an integral lug. One face of the ampulla is decorated with a flower on a cross-hatched background. The other face has a motif, which is not distinguishable, but does incorporate cross-hatching. The surface of the ampulla has developed a light grey coloured patina. The ampulla measures 46.50mm in length, 29.87mm in width and weighs 29.8g

Ampullae were used as a flask to hold holy water, becoming a souvenir of a pilgrimage; they generally date to the late 12th to 15th centuries (Spencer, 1990, 57 ff). The style of this ampulla is of a late Medieval date where ampulla becomes smaller and less ornate (ibid: 58).The scallop design was the emblem of St. James the Greater from the 12th century, but became the generic symbol of pilgrimage itself, therefore representing all pilgrim saints and for all pilgrims (ibid: 41). Ampullae such as this type are rarely found in urban areas, but more in rural areas which may reflect the folk practice such as burying the ampulla in fields to protect crops and livestock from illness (ibid: 58).

Spencer, B. 1990, Pilgrim Souvenirs and Secular Badges, Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum