This report examines the finds from the 17th-century backfill of a well in the churchyard of St. Paul-in-the-Bail. Dug possibly as early as the 1st century, the well lay within the east range of the later forum , and may have been used subsequently as the baptistry of two successive early churches, built some time between the late 4th and 7th centuries. The history and use of the well is briefly outlined, with the focus of the volume on the finds. The assemblage from the 17th-century backfill represents the largest group of artefacts of this period to have been recovered in the city of Lincoln and contains a high proportion of organic material. The artefacts show a wide range in type and quality, including both common household articles and items indicating a relatively high social status. Selected finds are catalogued, primarily by function.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Summaries
• I Introduction
• II The Well
  • Construction
  • Use
  • Site sequence
• III The Finds
  • Introduction
  • Personal ornament (Fig. 5)
  • Costume and costume accessories
  • Toilet articles (Fig. 8)
  • Leather shoes (Figs. 9–13)
  • Building debris
  • Vessels
  • Other household equipment
  • Clay tobacco pipes (Fig. 38)
  • Games
  • Commerce, reading and writing
  • Horse equipment
  • Military equipment
  • Tools and crafts
  • Miscellaneous
• IV Discussion
  • The Use of the Well
  • Dating and Possible Reasons for Disuse
  • Evidence of Iconoclasm?
  • The Backfill: a single episode or a sequence of events?
  • The nature of the material, and some possible sources
  • Conclusions
• Appendix 1 - The pistol holster: a preliminary note
• Appendix 2 - Concordance of catalogued items by context
• Bibliography
• Index