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Description: | A copper alloy S-shaped belt fastener dating from the post medieval period. It is 40.8mm long, 20.2mm wide and 5.6mm thick. The fastener has cast decoration on both faces which is identical but more worn on one face. The fastener is in the form of a snake with two heads. The eye and nose are clearly depicted at both ends. The neck and body of the snake is decorated with lozenge shaped scales. In the centre is a beaded band round the snake's waist with foliage decoration extending to each side. The fastener is worn but is in good condition with bronze a dark brown patina. S-shaped 'snake belt' fasteners were probably associated with sword belts and are easily paralleled in metal detecting literature (eg. Bailey's (1997) Detector Finds 3; p21 - 22). They are widely considered to date from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Geake, 2001).
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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