The knife
This knife was found by archaeologists in the moat around Caerlaverock's later castle. Although the blade is very corroded, the knife is almost complete, hundreds of years after it fell into the moat.
A
number of different materials were used to make this knife. The
blade is made of iron and probably had a sharp cutting edge made
from steel (a hard metal made by adding carbon to iron at a very
high temperature). To form the handle, flat plates carved from
animal bone were attached to both sides of the knife, and
fastened with small rivets made from copper alloy.
A knife made in this way is called a scale tang knife. The tang is the middle part of the handle, made from iron. The scales are the bone plates attached to either side (see diagram on left). Scale tang knives were first used in the 14th century, and some knives are still made this way today, although their scales are usually made from wood or plastic.
In medieval times, knives had a wide range of uses, and many people would carry one around with them. Knives were used for carving wood, bone and leather to make objects and garments, for preparing food and for cutting hair. They were also used in surgery and as weapons. Quills, made from birds' feathers and used for writing, were kept sharp using a `pen knife'.
Many of the knives found by archaeologists were thrown away in medieval times. They might have been thrown away because they were broken or because the steel cutting edge had become blunt or had worn away. Knives could be kept sharp using a hone or whetstone (click here to go to the information about the hone).
The waterlogged conditions in the castle's moat helped to preserve this knife. Objects like this, made from different materials, have to be very carefully cleaned and conserved so that all their parts survive.