English: An incomplete cast copper-alloy padlock in the form of a human head. The padlock is oval in plan and deeply convex. There is a rectangular opening at the top of the head surrounded on three sides (the back is open) by a flange. The front edge of this is decorated with a horizontal ridge. Inside the aperture there is a ridge below the flanged edge. From behind the front edge, at the mid point is a thin, flat, rectangular projection. Originally this projected towards the open back of the aperture, but has been bent to one side. At the base of the closed neck is a small flat projection with a curved lower edge. This projects towards the front of the lock. At the left side of the face is a large keyhole shaped aperture which has a slight point in the bottom edge. Opposite this on the right side is a small, circular aperture. The body of the lock is decorated with relief and incised details of the hair, brows, eyes, nose and mouth. The hairline is arched and the waves of the hair are delineated by a series of ridges. Below this are the arched brows, joining on to the triangular nose. The line of the nose is continued above the brow line in the form of a slight ridge terminating at the apex of the arch of the hairline. The eyes are thickly outlined in relief with the left being triangular and the right lentoid with short relief lines for the pupils. The mouth is a short horizontal incised line with a flattened chin below. The neck is short and set back from the chin. Its front edge is convex and the back is straight (producing a D-shape in cross section. The base of the neck is closed.

Dimensions: 31.38 mm x 19.22 mm x 15.70 mm

Weight: 14.33 g

The lock is almost identical to examples found in North Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and recorded on the PAS database as YORYM-89CD53 and LIN-3BC5E5 respectively. Some of the details of the face are stylistically similar to other Roman objects depicting human faces (e.g. the hair and mouth), for example a copper alloy mount from a Roman Villa in Dorset which is thought to possibly represent Medusa (Light, T and Ellis P, 2009, Bucknowle, A Romano-British Villa and its Antecedents: Excavations 1976 - 1991, p63 - 66, Fig. 30, No. 58).