´óÏó´«Ã½

This knife was found tucked behind the oak lintel above the main fireplace in the South Somerset Hall House, built about 1520, where my wife and I live. It was hidden in such an inaccessible place that it must have been placed there deliberately: by whom or why will remain a mystery. The knife is 71/2 inches long and the handle, which is clad in bone, is very small at just under 3 inches, indicating small hands. At the end there is a delicate brass and bone finial. At the time that the house was built eating utensils were commonly made of wood and the sophisticated craftmanship of the knife indicates that its owner was wealthy - either the person who built or owned the house or a wealthy visitor, who travelled with his own set of cutlery.