Worth the Wait: This Week's Mystery Artifact

First off, we'd like to apologize for the long break between Mystery Artifact posts.  The Museum staff has been very busy over the past few weeks attending conferences and presenting day camps and public programs for our many visitors.  That having been said, we're not going to let you off easy this week!

This artifact is not on display at the museum at this time, and it stumped me the first time I saw it in storage.  Here is a photo of the it in the position in which it would be used.  A small hint:  the bolts on the bottom of the object would attach it to a flat surface in this upright position.

This one is tricky, so I'll give you a second photo.  This shot shows the artifact lying on its side:

Post your guesses in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.  Good luck!

--Valerie