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Gathering the Jewels features over 30,000 images of objects, books, letters, aerial photographs and other items from museums, archives and libraries throughout Wales.
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Roman steelyard and weight from Caernarfon
Copper alloy steelyard or balance with a separate bun-shaped weight. The steelyard has three suspension hooks for weighing objects of varying weights. Heavy objects would have used the hook nearest the end and light objects would have been weighed on the central hook. The weight would have been moved along the arm which is marked with a series of dots representing a specific weight. The Romans had a comparatively well-organized system of weights and measures which was consistent throughout the Empire.
