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Description: | A complete copper alloy stirrup terminal, probably 11th century AD in date. The terminal is formed by a sub semi-cylindrical casing, which is open at the top and rear, but closed at the base. The casing is crescentic in section. In profile, both the lower and upper terminals are angled at about 45 degrees to the orientation of the casing. The lower terminal also has a ledge which projects slightly at the back. The upper terminal, has a bulbous transverse collar, above which a small ridge is visible on the front.The exterior mid section is decorated with recessed and raised features which may be zoomorphic. Prominent is a broadly central bulbous projection. A feint linear ridge is visible on the upper portion of either side of the projection, but no further detail is discernable. Above this are two side by side recesses outlined by curved ridges, which may represent ears. Below the bulbous projection is a broadly V shaped recess. The front of the base of the terminal is decorated with a tendril with curling terminals at either side.The stirrup terminal has a brown lightly pitted surface, with a light green surface visible particularly on the less prominent features. There has been some damage to a small area of pone side of the terminal, on the reverse. It is bent inwards and slightly distorted and split. But the terminal is in very good overall condition. The terminal is 47.1mm long, 12.6mm wide at the base, and measures 11.9mm from the front of the bulbous projection to the reverse. It has a mass of 13.6mm.In "Stirrup Terminals" (Finds Research Group Datasheet No. 24), Williams (1997, p.1) states: "Many terminals may be recognised by their hollow backs, which would have enclosed the diagonal arms of the lower part of the stirrup. In many cases there is also a projecting ledge which would have supported the extremities of the foot plate of the stirrup. Very often the hollow back contains, as well as traces of iron, the remains of lead solder by which means the terminal seems to have been secured to the stirrup."Williams (ibid.) adds that: "The great majority of these terminals are zoomorphic, and many depict a beast's head with bulging elongated eyes, prominent ears, and sometimes lobe-ended tendrils curling back from the nose, or as crests projecting back from behind the ears. The forms of the heads are, in most cases, of Scandinavian inspitration reflecting the late Viking Ringerike and Urnes styles."Williams (ibid.) considers that along with the contemporary stirrup strap mounts, these terminals are likely to date to a period centring on the second half of the 11th century AD. This date, spanning the late early medieval period and the early medieval period, is the most likely date for the terminal.
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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