Maryland Archeology Month

-April 2009-

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St. Mary's City:
375 years old, thousands of years young

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Archeology Gallery

Bone needle case

This object was created by taking a long bone from a mammal, most likely a cow, and turning it on a lathe to produce a regular tubular shape. Threads were also tuned on either end of the tube so that caps could be screwed on. This object was a needle case. Needles were very valuable objects in the 17th century and it is not uncommon to have a specialized, dedicated holder. Bone working was a major industry in England producing objects such as this and handles for knives and other implements.