English: Cast copper alloy staple, round in section for half of its length and rectangular in section for the remaining half. This latter half has been drawn and flattened and then the end has been bent over. The opposite end has been broken off revealing a central ridge which suggests it has been sheared off at this point, and may have a hook originally at the opposite end. The central area has been ground down to a flat surface, suggesting it was exposed to repetitive wear. The end that has been turned over has been ground off in two directions, one has left a burr behind on the edge of the point, so it must have been roughly ground. The other side has been ground by a circular object to produce the point. The wear on the piece suggests it may have been used as some sort of staple, where the cylindrical end was embedded into wood, and the protruding head would have been clinched over the edge of the wooden or metal surface, so that it was flat and at right angles to the body of the staple, and it was exposed in certain areas to end up in this state.

Similar copper alloy staples are illustrated in Ottaway and Rogers (2002) on page 2829, Fig.1408, No.15161, which is dated to the 14th century; and in Griffiths, Philpott & Egan (2007) on page 288, Plate 73, Nos.3776-7 & 3781, which could be later in date; and in Margeson (1993) on page 139, Fig.104, Nos.943-5, which are dated from the 16th to the 17th century.