• Date: 15th century
• Material: Glass
• Origin: Imported from the Continent (possibly from Italy or the Netherlands)

This bowl is unusually well preserved for an excavated medieval glass vessel. Its surface has a slightly raised geometric pattern (not visible in the photo) produced by blowing into a mould during production, and the multiple projections on the foot were created by pulling the heated glass with pucellas (tongs). These decorative features, alongside the bowl’s clear blue colour, show that it was an import – glass of this quality was not produced in England during this period.

A bowl like this would have been a status object, possibly used at the abbot’s table or by guests.

• Date: 14th century
• Material: Ceramic
• Place made: Sussex

Bayham has the largest collection of decorative medieval floor tiles found in Sussex, with 46 distinct patterns noted. This tile depicts a knight wearing a mail coat and fabric surcoat, holding a shield and spear, under an architectural canopy. The style of dress and canopy are familiar from 14th-century memorial brasses in churches, but the diagonal spear is unusual.

This is one of a group of tiles that may have been made nearby, with the abbey being a chief client for production. All the tiles in this group are highly ornate and of good quality, suggesting that there were skilled craftsmen living in the area.

• Date: 13th–15th century
• Material: Glass
• Place made: England

Bayham has one of the most important collections of medieval window glass from any monastic site in England. These fragments were found in the vault above the chapel in the north transept. They appear to have been left there when the abbey was dissolved, and after the lead holding the windows together had been removed to be sold. Unlike most excavated glass, the glass is in a stable condition and still translucent.

The rich variety of patterns and colours (including reds, blues, light and dark greens, orange, yellows and pink) gives a sense of how vibrant the church would originally have appeared.

• Date: Late 15th to early 16th century
• Material: Ceramic
• Place made: Surrey

This jug was one of several objects found near the monastic latrines in what appears to be a dump of material discarded when the abbey was dissolved. It is typical of the period and region – made from red-coloured clay, with a white slip covering most of the vessel and a splash of pale green glaze under the lip.

The glaze was added for practical as well as decorative reasons. The area directly under the lip of a jug is most likely to suffer from spills and drips. The glaze protects the clay in this area and so helps the jug remain usable for longer.

• Date: c.15th century
• Material: Iron
• Place made: England

The size of these two hinged shackles, joined by a chain, suggests that they would have been used on the ankles rather than wrists. When in use they would have been held closed with an iron bolt and could only have been opened with a hammer and chisel.

This is a very unusual discovery for a monastic site. The shackles’ presence could suggest that Bayham had a prison on site for the punishment of badly behaved members of the community; many monasteries had such prisons by the end of the Middle Ages. Alternatively they could have been used in administering justice over the monastery’s estates.

• Date: c.15th century
• Material: Pewter
• Place made: England

The wide oval bowl and octagonal handle of this spoon are typical of the later Middle Ages. The use of pewter rather than silver suggests that this spoon was not a status object – although metal spoons were not available at all to the poor, who would have used wood or just mopped up with bread.

To see what the spoon would probably have looked like when complete, see the 3D photograph of a silver spoon found 20 miles away at Pevensey.

• Date: Early 15th century
• Material: Lead
• Place made: Norfolk

Pilgrimage was an important aspect of medieval religious life. Small lead badges depicting scenes relevant to the shrine were usually on sale, both as souvenirs and to symbolise the pilgrim’s devotion. Abbeys acted as guest houses for pilgrims en route, so this pilgrimage badge did not necessarily belong to one of the Bayham canons – it could have been left behind by someone passing through.

This incomplete badge comes from the village of Walsingham, Norfolk, a place of pilgrimage dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It depicts the Annunciation (Mary being told she will give birth to the Son of God). The surviving figure is of the Virgin, wearing the style of high-collared cloak that was fashionable at the time and holding a book. Originally the Archangel Gabriel would have stood opposite her.

• Date: Late 15th to early 16th century
• Material: Leather
• Place made: England

Leather is an organic material which usually degrades underground. However, the Dissolution rubbish dump near the latrines at Bayham was unusually waterlogged, which has led to the remarkable survival of 150 pieces of medieval leather. Forty-one pieces could be identified as shoe soles, like the three shown here.

All the soles have the pointed toe, wide flare across the ball of the foot and narrow heel typical of the late Middle Ages, showing that the canons followed the same fashions in shoes as their secular neighbours. The evidence of wear shows that they had all been used before they were thrown away.

• Date: Late 15th to early 16th century
• Material: Ceramic
• Place made: London

This small, bulbous bottle was made at the Cheam kilns in south London. Its size and shape suggest that it was used for distilling alcohol. Distillation equipment consisted of three parts: a vessel in which the original liquid was heated, an ‘alembic’ which collected the vapours and channelled the condensation, and a final receiving vessel. This bottle would have been a receiving vessel.

Religious foundations in this period were largely self-sustaining so having a brewhouse and distillery on site was not unusual. An alembic is on display at nearby Battle Abbey.

• Date: 15th century
• Material: Copper alloy
• Place made: England

This unusual object functions like a set of tweezers, with a ring over the arms so they can be held shut. It was used as a page holder or turner, allowing scribes to group pages of vellum together while working or possibly to mark an individual page. The decorated plates give a large and secure gripping area.

While abbeys were centres of learning and therefore often have evidence of literacy among their archaeological remains, page turners are one of the rarer types of find. More usual are styluses and fragments of wax tablet such as those displayed at Battle Abbey.

• Date: Uncertain
• Material: Lead
• Place made: England

Lead cloth bale seals like this one were used throughout Europe from the 13th to 19th centuries as a way of identifying the producer or origin for textiles or other parcels of goods being traded. They consist of two circles of metal with a short tab between them. The circles are folded over each side of the cloth and pressed together to seal them in place. Typically there is an identification mark on one side, often far more complex than the simple ‘E8’ here.

Unfortunately we do not know where this seal came from.

• Date: 1927–39
• Material: Copper alloy and enamel
• Place made: England

This badge for the Daily Mirror’s children’s club the Wilfredian League of Gugnuncs is an example of the modern material which can be found during archaeological excavations. The league was based around a cartoon strip about three animals: Pip (a dog), Squeak (a penguin) and Wilfred, a baby rabbit, whose ears appear on the badge.

Membership (cost one shilling) entitled you to a badge, a membership book, and to take part in competitions and rallies. In the interwar years there were over 100,000 members. Gugnuncs were expected to ‘make the world a jollier place to live in’, ‘be kind to all dumb animals’ and not eat rabbit.