This artifact was used as part of the burner for an oil lamp. The wick extended through the slot on the top. It was recovered from excavations at Grinter Place State Historic Site in Wyandotte County, a two-story brick home overlooking the Delaware Crossing on the Kansas River that is now in the National Register of Historic Places. Moses and Annie Grinter (she was a Lenape Delaware) owned and operated a ferry and trading post there. Grinter Place was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.