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Description: | A thick, square copper alloy mount with a semi-circular lug centrally placed on each side. There are two parallel, fragmentary rectangular lugs on the reverse which appear to have been pierced for attachment. The reverse is otherwise undecorated. The central part has three concentric square decorative fields within raised borders, with each square field slightly higher than the one surrounding it. The inner square appears undecorated and may have held an inlay. The square border between the outer and middle square has a pointed oval extending from each corner and dividing the outer square into four. The outer square and the semi-circular lugs are filled with a raised interlace pattern of abstract design. This is indistinct as the object requires cleaning but on two opposing sides it seems to consist of three discrete (though linked) knotted motifs in a row. On the other two sides it consists of a single row of repeating interlace. The decoration of the semi-circular lugs is also arranged in opposing pairs of different interlace motifs. The decoration of the middle square is completely obscured by corrosion products. Traces of gilding are visible on the upper surface apart from inside the inner square. This mount belongs to a group of Irish mounts found in Britain dating from the late eight to ninth century (Youngs 2001). They are characterised by the integral pierced lugs on the reverse and the interlace decoration divided into panels. Similar mounts were used on wooden boxes or portable shrines (S. Youngs pers. comm.), but others in this category appear to be harness mounts. Some items in this category circulated through Viking trading networks and were found in Viking period graves. Other mounts belonging to this group recorded by the PAS are LEIC-09D1C8 and SF-8875.
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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