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Description: | An incomplete cast copper-alloy horse harness fitting of 11th century date. Possibly half of a double-ended harness link (see Williams, 2007, p. 4-5). The link has a lozenge shaped terminal at one end with a circular hole in the centre with a bevelled back and rounded knops on the corners. A square sectioned bar with rounded corners projects from one corner of the terminal and ends in an old break after 19.6mm. Just before the break the bar is slightly swollen and an L shaped piece extends from one side. This is thicker than the bar with rounded edges and probably formed part of a larger, symmetrical projection with a circular central piercing, now broken.The position of the breaks gives this item, in plan, a superficial similarity to a Medieval key. The lonzenge shaped head with knops on the corner and in particular a bevelled back and the thickness of the central projection (completely unlike a key bit) argue against this interpretation and are typical features of 11th century Anglo-Scandinavian harness fittings numerous examples of which are recorded on the database, such as BH-3068D6.It is 37.6mm long, 25.6mm wide and 6.1mm thick; it weighs 9.58 grams.
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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