Editing Lock and key (section)

=== Premodern history ===
{{Expand German|Schlüssel#Geschichte_von_Schloss_und_Schlüssel|date=May 2025}}
[[File:Lock MET cdi55-61-5.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Middle Ages|Medieval]] [[Gothic art|Gothic]] lock, from the 15th–16th centuries, made of iron, in the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)]]
Locks have been in use for over 6000 years, with one early example discovered in the ruins of [[Nineveh]], the capital of ancient [[Assyria]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last=de Vries, N. Cross and D. P. Grant|first=M. J.|title=Design Methodology and Relationships with Science: Introduction|year=1992|publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers|location=Eindhoven|page=32|isbn=9780792321910|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4T8U_J1h7noC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024091334/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4T8U_J1h7noC|archive-date=2016-10-24}}</ref> Locks such as this were developed into the [[Egypt]]ian wooden [[pin tumbler lock|pin lock]], which consisted of a bolt, door fixture or attachment, and key. When the key was inserted, pins within the fixture were lifted out of drilled holes within the bolt, allowing it to move. When the key was removed, the pins fell part-way into the bolt, preventing movement.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ceccarelli|first=Marco|title=International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms|year=2004|publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers|location=New York|isbn=1402022034|page=43|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UG0RlFBqwrgC|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024091439/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UG0RlFBqwrgC|archive-date=2016-10-24}}</ref>

The [[warded lock]] was also present from antiquity and remains the most recognizable lock and key design in the Western world. The first all-metal locks appeared between the years 870 and 900, and are attributed to English craftsmen.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.locks.ru/germ/informat/schlagehistory.htm |title=History |publisher=Locks.ru |access-date=2010-06-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420042859/http://www.locks.ru/germ/informat/schlagehistory.htm |archive-date=2010-04-20 }}</ref> It is also said that the key was invented by [[Theodorus of Samos]] in the 6th century BC.<ref name=":0" />

The Romans invented metal locks and keys and the system of security provided by wards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/key-lock-device|title=Key {{!}} lock device|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2020-01-13|archive-date=2021-12-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224102955/https://www.britannica.com/technology/key-lock-device|url-status=live}}</ref>

Affluent Romans often kept their valuables in secure locked boxes within their households, and wore the keys as rings on their fingers. The practice had two benefits: It kept the key handy at all times, while signaling that the wearer was wealthy and important enough to have money and jewellery worth securing.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |url=http://www.slate.com/slideshows/life/the-history-of-key-design.html#slide_4 |title=History |journal=Slate |date=15 May 2012 |publisher=Slate Magazine |access-date=2012-12-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209004835/http://www.slate.com/slideshows/life/the-history-of-key-design.html#slide_4 |archive-date=2012-12-09 }}</ref>
[[File:Dronkenmansslot.jpg|thumb|Drunk man's lock at the bottom (black lock) and a regular modern lock at the top]]
A special type of lock, dating back to the 17th–18th century, although potentially older as similar locks date back to the 14th century, can be found in the [[Beguinage]] of the Belgian city [[Lier, Belgium|Lier]].<ref name="De Bruyn">R. De Bruyn, ‘Oude sloten op deurtjes in het Liers begijnhof’, in: 't land van Ryen jaargang 17, aflevering 3–4, 1967, p. 158, article in Dutch</ref><ref name=nieuwsblad>[https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20180416_03466625?articlehash=E3E3365E41E23D3A2A3536DD89F68F275E018F95FE5BDE04E82450A16EC2F1FE97D61A36A039250260D7A2B654121AC3FEFDC9502EAC83383F1EB001265E80E0 Echtpaar schrijft eerste boek sinds twintig jaar over Liers begijnhof] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221107010211/https://www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20180416_03466625?articlehash=E3E3365E41E23D3A2A3536DD89F68F275E018F95FE5BDE04E82450A16EC2F1FE97D61A36A039250260D7A2B654121AC3FEFDC9502EAC83383F1EB001265E80E0 |date=2022-11-07 }} nieuwsblad.be, Chris van Rompaey, 17 april 2018, article in Dutch</ref> These locks are most likely Gothic locks, that were decorated with foliage, often in a V-shape surrounding the keyhole.<ref>[https://www.historicallocks.com/en/site/h/historicallocks/dictionary/ Dictionary, Lexicon of locks and keys] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527060813/https://www.historicallocks.com/en/site/h/historicallocks/dictionary/ |date=2023-05-27 }} historicallocks.com</ref> They are often called ''drunk man's lock'', as these locks were, according to certain sources, designed in such a way a person can still find the keyhole in the dark, although this might not be the case as the ornaments might have been purely aesthetic.<ref name="De Bruyn"/><ref name=nieuwsblad/> In more recent times similar locks have been designed.<ref>[https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/c6/09/e4/f98674353c3e84/US5109686.pdf United States patent keyhole guide for locks and method of using the same] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407140307/https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/c6/09/e4/f98674353c3e84/US5109686.pdf |date=2020-04-07 }} patentimages, Eugene Toussant, 1990</ref><ref>[https://www.wired.com/2010/05/v-lock-helps-drunks-get-home-to-bed/ V-Lock Helps Drunks Get Home to Bed] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407140306/https://www.wired.com/2010/05/v-lock-helps-drunks-get-home-to-bed/ |date=2020-04-07 }} wired.com, Charlie Sorrel, 5 April 2010</ref>