Rose Theatre manicure pin

Bone manicure implement or toilet set, found during the excavations of the Rose theatre on Bankside. It is pointed at one end and has a small spoon or scoop at the other end. The scoop end would have been used for cleaning ears and the pointed end was a toothpick. It may also have been used as a nail cleaner. The Rose was first built in 1587 and was one of four purpose-built playhouses on the south bank of the Thames in London (the others were the Globe, the Hope and the Swan). It was demolished in 1606. Archaeologists discovered the remains of the Rose in 1988. Reference: Bowsher, J. & Miller, P. (2009), 'The Rose and the Globe - playhouses of Shakespeare's Bankside, Southwark. Excavations 1988-90’, MOLA Monograph 48.