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Description: | An early-medieval cast copper-alloy strap-fitting with a hook at one terminal and an iron rivet at the other terminal. The sub-triangular fitting is comprised of a semicircular terminal with two curved knobs extending from the side, there is a central iron rivet in the terminal. The plate has a sub-lozenge zone with an incised line running parallel to the edges. The plate then extends out into a zone containing two incised symetrical animals, with the heads pointing towards the hooked end, and each body curves around an openwork circle. The animals have a long pointed snout with narrow bodies that have a two transverse lines behind the head and at the end of the body. There is an incised oval on the moulding where the hook joins the plate. The hook is incomplete, with a worn break at its tip. The brooch has a dull mid-brown patina, and the incised decoration is filled with a white-cream inlay. It is 61.08mm long, 25.48mm wide, has a maximum thickness of 12.12mm and a minimum thickness of 3.55mm. The fitting is of an 11th-century Anglo-Scandinavian date. It has been suggested that these fittings may have been used as clasps from a leather strap or bag. Exanples of similar artefacts can be found in Tattenhoe and Westbury. Iverns et al 1995. p351, fig 153 no 79, no 211. PAS examples include HAMP-177E22 and NMS-C0E720
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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