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Description: | Middle/ Late Anglo Sxon copper alloy strap end of Thomas Type A, with animal head terminal and traces of niello inlay remaining.It is 54mm in length, basically expanding from the animal head terminal to the open-end (open 4mm wide), but narrowing slightly 14.5mm before it, so this is the widest point at 10.5mm, while the open end is 6mm wide. The animal head terminal is rounded but c.3mm wide at its nose.Behind the nose and at either edge of the strap end, is a semi-circular eye, defined with a groove or incised line. There appears to be a vertical line running down the middle of the head to its back -past the eyes- just below the ears, from the nose. Above and behind the eyes is a diagonal incised line -each side-, possibly eyebrows? With a horizontal line that runs across these lines, and the central vertical one, just before the deep groove infront of the ears, a triangle shape is obvious.The ears are 4mm long and D-shaped, the straight line being the deep groove at the back of the head. The ears have a smaller D-shaped incision cut into them to accentuate the outer and inner parts of the ear.2mm behind the ears is a c.19mm long and 6mm wide panel of decoration. The end furthest from the ears is sloping from one side to the other, so the length lessens from 20mm to 19mm. The decoration appears to be in the form of two X shapes made up of 3 or 4 incised Vs as each part of the X (four V parts per X). Traces of niello can be seen, as can a spot of orange, ?iron corrosion, at the decoration centre.There is another smaller panel of decoration beyond the larger, upto the open end. Much of the original patina is missing here and it is quite worn, but the cell is c.10mm long and 6mm wide with a pair of incised upside-down Vs reaching from the corners nearest the larger cell, apparantly (now obscured) to the centre of the edge by the open end.The open end is forked, but rounded, with a 2mm diam. rivet hole below each of the two rounds.The reverse of the strap-end is flat but worn.Late 8th century to c.1000.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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