Oval coopered pig-salting trough

Form and material

The catalogue describes a large oval pig-salting trough made by cooperage: sycamore forms the body, iron hoops bind it, and handles sit at both ends. Its low, open form is distinct from a tall, lidded salting barrel. The catalogue records a height of 39 cm and a width of 77 cm. It also displays a length of 101.5 mm, a value inconsistent with those dimensions; that length is not repeated here.

The record does not identify a maker, the exact stave or handle construction, or the trough's capacity. Those details should not be inferred from the general description of coopered vessels.

Use at Penally

Museum Wales associates this object with use at Penally between 1850 and 1900. The item is specifically described as a pig-salting trough. In the documented use, its open body held pork and salt during curing; this is a meat-preservation use, not evidence that the vessel supported a deliberately managed fermentation.

That dated association belongs to this object. It does not by itself establish where the trough was made, how widely similar troughs were used, or when the object stopped being used.

What the record leaves open

The collection record gives no capacity, construction drawing, cleaning instructions or food-contact treatment. The catalogue's listed length conflicts with its height and width, so the length is left out pending clarification. No claims about the trough's seasoning, care, effect on flavour or suitability for a modern cure follow from the available object description.