Iron key, probably a cabinet key. Open barrel with a moderately complex bit. The shaft has two grooves, and the head is a typical oval. The key-size and form of the bit suggest use with a cabinet lock of good quality, such as would be used in a plantation house to secure items of value beyond everyday use (perhaps guns, or silver). It's presence in a slave cabin likely reflects appropriation by stealth, as close watch would be kept over keys of this quality in a plantation setting.
Accession Number
Anthr1983_002_0201_01
Related Item
Robert Ascher and Charles H. Fairbanks, "Excavation of a Slave Cabin: Georgia, U.S.A." Historical Archaeology 5 (1971), pp.3-17.
Heavily rusted, with part of the barrel and the tip of the bit rusted away
Agent2
Prof. Emeritus Robert Ascher, one of the principal excavators
Provenance
Slave cabin on the Rayfield Plantation, excavated in 1969 in one of the first archaeological studies of slavery in the US.
Archival Collection
Georgia Slave Cabin archaeological collection
Rights
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