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Description: | A cast copper alloy terminal or head, probably from a later Iron Age to Roman button and loop fastener or strap fitting. The terminal survives intact, however the loop for attachment is now missing due to old breaks. It comprises a plate that is teardrop in shape, sub-oval in section with a flat back and moulded decorative front face. At the base of the object where the plate comes to a point is a moulded longitudinal projecting knop, which is oval shaped in plan and sub-triangular in section with a prominent central ridge. This is decorated on either side with small recessed triangular fields that would presumably have once contained enamelling. The front face has a central circular area of moulded and enamelled decoration surrounded by a deeply incised groove. The decorative element consists of a thin raised border within which are four moulded oval shaped petals arranged centrifugally around a central point and in line with the knop at the base of the plate. Within the four recessed oval shaped fields of the petals are traces of possible white enamelling, although due to corrosion and encrustation this remains uncertain. Equally, in the recessed fields surrounding the petals it is unclear what colour enamelling may have been utilised due to encrustation. The back face of the plate is undecorated and has a slightly curved profile through the longitudinal axis. A rectangular solder mark or scar is visible running the length of the back face, but most prominent in one rectangular area at the top and one at the bottom of the plate. This suggests the original presence of a now missing loop of some kind to allow attachment of the object to clothing or other similar items. The entire object measures 25.51mm in length, 20.71mm in width, 4.76mm in thickness, and weighs 10.80g.
This is probably the terminal or head end from a clothing fastener such as a button and loop fastener or a strap slide/loop. Similar fasteneres and strap slides with tear drop heads and central circular areas of moulded, enamelled decoration are noted by MacGregor (1976: pp. 132, 136). This example also finds its closest parallels with Wild's Class III button and loop tear drop shaped fasteners (Wild, 1970: 138), some of which display enamelled decoration as is the case with several examples recorded on the PAS database (see for example YORYM-C25EF8, SWYOR-572037, NCL-DC4CA4 or LIN-434E60). This suggests a date range in the late Iron Age to Roman period of the 1st to 2nd centuries AD for the current example. | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Brown, Andrew | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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