It’s a spindle whorl - a weight added to a spindle (a wooden stick used in the hand spinning of woollen thread).
It keeps the spindle spinning smoothly.
In Roman times spindle whorls were made out of carved stone, pottery, wood or bone.
This disk-shaped spindle whorl, found on the site of Folkestone Roman Villa, is made from a recycled piece of decorated Samian ware pottery and is about 4cm in diameter.
Image of spindle whorl. Copyright: Canterbury Archaeological Trust
