I have examined these objects in detail, and come to the inescapable conclusion that several of them do indeed date from before the Cataclysm. Nine objects in particular: a cup, a scrap of fabric, a metal rod or tube, a key, a solid cylinder, a brooch, a ring, a stylus, and a geometrical solid. Of these, a few are of completely unknown function. The metal rod, the cylinder and the twelve-sided geometrical solid are mysteries in both origin and function. I may well make a gift of one of them to the King, as I know of his interest in pre-Cataclysmic artifacts.
The brooch and the ring are clearly decorative, used for personal adornment just as they would be today. The function of the cup and the stylus are obvious. The scrap of fabric may be torn from an item of clothing, or from furniture, or similar. The fabric is dyed a particularly vivid shade of red – I do not believe that we still have the techniques to fix such dyes. In addition, the weave of the fabric is noticably fine and even. It is without doubt the work of a skilled craftsperson. Again, I do not believe that such skills have survived to this day – at least, not to such a high level. This lends weight to the hypothesis that the ancient pre-Cataclysmic societies had access to manufacturing techniques and methods that we lack today, as I have long believed.
The metal objects – the rod, the cup, the key and the cylinder particularly – show no signs of forge work. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that the rod has been made in a single piece, though the method used for such a process is a mystery to me. It shows no seam, nor is there any kind of adornment or decoration, apart from a single raised bead or stud about one third of the way along its length. The stud is of one piece with the rod and serves no apparent function. This rod is therefore one of the least interesting objects in the collection.
The cylinder and the twelve-sided solid are scarcely of greater interest. Both are solid and of a single piece of metal. Steel, I believe, though I have not yet had time to perform a detailed analysis. Both are less heavy than I would expect given their size, suggesting hollowness – though I admit that they show no other evidence thereof.
The cup is, again, one piece. It appears to have been raised in a singular fashion, as it shows no seam or other evidence of having been worked. Its exterior is decorated with an etched geometric pattern. This patten is non-repeating in nature, and may thereby represent some kind of encoded information, but again this is speculation on my part.
The key is not even remotely unusual, being of a type and design that is still in common use today, and were it not fir the circumstances under which it was found, would be indistinguishable from a modern key.
This leaves only the ring and the brooch, which as I have mentioned are clearly simple jewellery. The ring is a simple one – sized, probably, for a man’s hand and set with a square cut stone. The brooch is formed in the design of a bird of some kind, though the species is not familiar to me, and may represent a species that was exterminated in the Cataclysm. If so, it ought to be of interest to scholars on that basis alone.
I will shortly be leaving for the Smelters. There is a scholar there with whom I will need to consult regarding the marks on the cup, which I will be taking with me. I think I will donate the rod to the King before I leave.
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