Steelyard

Steelyard

BRONZE

The horizontal element of the steelyard (statera) is a rod, square in cross-section, made up of two parts. The longer section finishes in a knob with a straight-sided base and a top with four facets and is marked with a scale (rather-worn) on three sides. The shorter section is rotated by 45 degrees relative to the longer section. It has thickened ridges at both ends and finishes in a knob with a flaring base and a cone-shaped top that is separated from the ridge by a groove. Near the join of the two sections of the rod, there is an elongated hole in the upper surface of the shorter element with a pin across it, attached to slightly raised flanges on either side (106mm from the groove). A ring passing under this pin is used to attach a suspension hook for the steelyard. A similar arrangement is used to attach two other hooks to the short section of the rod, one hanging from a ring projecting at right angles to the upper surface (47mm from the groove) and the other hanging from the lower surface (20mm from the groove). The rings are made from thin flattened strips of bronze and the hooks are similar in size and shape. Each is made from a flattened four-sided strip of bronze that is formed into a wide curve ending in a cone-shaped knob. At the attachment end the strip is formed into a straight element (c.41mm long) that is doubled over with a curved top, leaving a gap through which the ring is passed. The free end is formed into a point and curls up slightly, just above the beginning of the curve of the hook. A square ridge on the outer surface of the straight element, c.11mm from the free end, adds a decorative touch. Two chains formed from double links and ending in hooks with pointed ends were used to suspend the object to be weighed. They hang from a u-shaped element made from thick bronze wire (round in cross section) that ends on each side in flattened rings that attach to a moveable collar. This collar has a central element in the form of an arch made from a flat piece of bronze and round side elements that curve around, up and out, leaving a gap for the attachment of the chains, and ending in conical knobs. The counterweight is missing, but otherwise the piece is in very good condition with a dark, greenish patina.

Function: a common Roman device, used for weighing objects by means of a lever system. The object would have been suspended using the hooks on the end of the long chains with the collar being placed in the groove near the end of the short section while the three suspension hooks provided three alternative fulcrum points for the steelyard, allowing for the weighing of objects of varying degrees of heaviness. The one closest to the knob end of the short section would have been used for the heaviest objects. In each case the counterweight (missing in this example) would have been moved along the longer section of the rod until the steelyard was balanced and the weight read off from the appropriate scale.

Purchased from B.A. Seaby Ltd, London, with funds from an anonymous donor, 1984.

AD 100 - 300

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