South Italian Metalwork: Clamp

Inv. No.: 85.3242
Provenance: South Italy (probably Sicily)
Date: c. 5th-4th century BC
Length: 255 mm (maximum)
 
Gift of an anonymous donor.

A lead and iron clamp consisting of a long rectangular iron bar, roughly square in cross section, with shorter crosspieces near each end. One of the crosspieces has both sides broken off and one arm is missing. The outline is irregular in shape, due to the coating of lead. The arms of the crosspieces are wedge-shaped, i.e., they are narrower near the horizontal bar. Clamps of this shape were commonly used in the Classical period.

Function:
Iron clamps were used to fasten together the blocks in one course of masonry in Greek stone buildings. They were placed horizontally on the upper surface of the blocks. Metal dowels were used to join the different courses, and molten lead helped to secure them.

Manufacture:
Made from wrought iron and the molten lead that was used to fix the clamp in place.

Bibliography:
Coulton, J. J., Ancient Greek Architects at Work: Problems of Structure and Design, Ithaca and New York, Cornell University Press, 1977.

Dinsmoor, W. B., The Architecture of Ancient Greece: An Account of its Historic Development, London and Sydney, B. T. Batsford, 1975, 174-175.

Robertson, D.S., Greek and Roman Architecture, second edition, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1969.