These two timbers are two components of a companion ladder. The larger piece measures 1.14 m long by 0.15 m wide and based on the visible ridges to accommodate the stairs, would have been the left-hand side banister of the ladder. The smaller piece measures 0.56 m wide and is 20 mm thick. This piece is one of the stairs that would have fitted between both banisters and still slots in to one of the grooves on the remaining banister. The join is step and groove radiused rather than square cut. Companion ladders or a companion way is usually steep but has treads or stairs rather than rungs typically seen on a ladder. Weight can be spread over a much larger area than concentrated on the surface of the small rungs of a ladder therefore it is possible to carry much heavier loads up and down these ladders. Companionways on modern vessels now tend to be made of aluminium, however on wooden sailing vessels and fishing vessels, wooden ladders may still be used, therefore it is difficult to date these pieces. These two timbers are two components of a companion ladder. The larger piece measures 1.14 m long by 0.15 m wide and based on the visible ridges to accommodate the stairs, would have been the left-hand side banister of the ladder. The smaller piece measures 0.56 m wide and is 20 mm thick. This piece is one of the stairs that would have fitted between both banisters and still slots in to one of the grooves on the remaining banister. The join is step and groove radiused rather than square cut. Companion ladders or a companion way is usually steep but has treads or stairs rather than rungs typically seen on a ladder. Weight can be spread over a much larger area than concentrated on the surface of the small rungs of a ladder therefore it is possible to carry much heavier loads up and down these ladders. Companionways on modern vessels now tend to be made of aluminium, however on wooden sailing vessels and fishing vessels, wooden ladders may still be used, therefore it is difficult to date these pieces. A RDF representation of MAS-F100106 2017-08-23T08:31:10+01:00 2018-05-08T08:40:53+01:00 MAS-F100106 MAS-F100106 GB en-GB The Trustees of the British Museum The Trustees of the British Museum 1 The period from for the object http://purl.org/NET/Claros/vocab#Thumbnail Attribute as courtesy of the British Museum A thumbnail image of MAS-F100106 With finder MAS Created by MAS A BB A BB Identified by A BB V L Identified by V L Wood Primary material of object Fragment By Attribution 3.0 Attribute as courtesy of the British Museum A full resolution image of MAS-F100106 Classification of object