Drawplate for wire working

The drawplate was used to make wire.  The plate was securely fixed to a bench and wire attached to pincers was drawn through one of the holes by a windlass.  The diameter of the hole controlled the thickness of the wire.  The Whithorn drawplate is unique in medieval Britain.   A rectangular iron plate with slightly concave long sides.  It is broken at one end.  An X-radiograph of the plate revealed three lines of holes ranging from 3.5 to 1.2mm on the long axis of the plate.  A cut short-cross silver halfpenny of Henry II or III is trapped on the surface of the plate by corrosion.