Casgliadau Arlein

A spindle whorl of Late Iron to early Roman periods. It is associated with Skeleton SK337

It is a perforated donut shape with two flat parallel faces. The outer edges are flat and uneven, which may make it less useful as a spindle weight. The object is heavily eroded though, so perhaps the object was originally hexaganol and has since lost its shape?

Similar looking spindle whorls were found during earlier excavations on the same site, but were all unstratified. Objects like these can be difficult to date but studies (Walton, Rogers, 1997, p.1743) suggest that spindle whorls with a diameter of 4-8mm are more likely to be late Iron Age or early Roman. This date fits with the surrounding 1st century roundhouse context.

A spindle whorl is a weight that would be attached to a spindle, which itself is a tool used for spinnig yarn.