August 2003

  Ancient spoon found in Cornwall

A 2,000-year-old spoon, used for scooping out shellfish, has been discovered at the site of an ancient village. The tiny, copper alloy metal Romano British spoon, the handle of which is missing, was found by workmen at the Chysauster site, which is just three miles from Mounts Bay, near Penzance, Cornwall (England). A similar spoon was found during recent excavations in Newquay, north Cornwall.
     Cornwall County Council archaeologist Charlie Johns said the spoons would have had long, prong like handles to open shellfish. "They are the only two such spoons to have been found in Cornwall, and could have been of local manufacture," he said. The Chysauster settlement of eight stone walled homesteads is one of the oldest in Britain.

Source: Ananova (18 August 2003)