RED HILL EXCAVATIONS AT CANVEY ISLAND. 99
not wedges. The standard type has an angle of 60° at one corner
and opposite to it a curved edge (R. 5" to 6") which often shows
signs of wear ; the thickness is about 1 inch. The shape suggests
that the tool was held in the right hand, and used to mould a
sheet of plastic clay, brought into a vertical position by the
left hand (Cf. use of fore-finger-joint of right hand for shaping
clay at Axel in Jutland (Antiquity, June, 1940, pp. 148 to 153)).
A sandstone counterpart of the tool was found on the same site.
The cleft-ended pointed stick may have been used to shape
the "lip" of the rim, the pointed end for boring necessary holes-
The bone bodkin is of Romano-British date.
A small fragment of a crude ware base—not shown in the
Plate—bears the impression of an extremely crude comb
ornament.
Plate 5.—The crude ware sherd, pierced with two holes, is
conjecturally completed by the insertion of a "thong" to
serve as handle. The vessel must have been of relatively large
size, and may have been used for conveyance of water or brine.
The other fragments of rims are conjecturally parts of "handles,"
pierced with holes to accommodate the fingers.
Plate 6.—Shows a three-legged crude ware object of simple
but grotesque design. A small projecting lng is noticed
on the inside of two of the feet, the third foot is defective.
Conjecturally the object is restored to form a holder or stand
for an oyster shell of large size—the whole forming an Oyster
Shell Lamp. A flat-bottomed triangular block, 1 inch thick
and dished out to form a shallow cistern of about the same
capacity as that of the shell—12 c.c. to 13 c.c.—was found
in the same hole. The block fits the three-legged holder in the
sense that it touches the feet at three critical points. Possibly
the holder may also have served as the framework of a draught
screen. Fitted with a wick made of plaited linen, passed
through a short length of flattened lead tube—found in the
burnt earth at Blackmore Avenue and conjecturally applied
for this purpose—and with mutton fat as fuel, the oyster shell
lamp burned with a clear yellow flame, and showed an illumination
of rather less than 1 candle power for a consumption of 7 grammes
of fat per hour.