A strip of plaited hemp or rush matting. It was recovered from a first floor chimney recess in Lauderdale House, Highgate, in association with four chickens, a Borderware candlestick, a glass tazza and two shoes. This is the most complete 'builder's sacrifice' known from London. Objects like shoes, clothing, other domestic items and dead animals were sometimes deliberately concealed inside houses to act as lucky charms and protection against harmful spirits.
