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Description: | A gold bracteate and other related E-M finds includung a fragment of a great square-headed brooch. Treasure case no. 2009 T264 Addenda to Treasure case no. 2003 T208.The seven finds in the group appear to derive from two, or perhaps three, ploughed-out graves of a 6th-century Anglo-Saxon cemetery. The grave-goods recovered consist of a gold bracteate, fragments from three silver-gilt brooches, four fragments from the bowl of a silver 'sieve' spoon, and two partially surviving, gilded copper-alloy brooches. The latter probably derive from the same grave, or graves, as some of the precious-metal artefacts and may be considered as Treasure finds by association. As noted below, some of the fragments join to objects from the same site previously reported to the Coroner as Treasure (ref. 2003 T208), which included a silver 'sieve' spoon, a rock-crystal ball and pieces of two silver brooches, all acquired by the British Museum in 2004 (DCMS Treasure Annual Report 2003, pp. 88-9, no. 120).The numbers in brackets below refer to the numbers on the finds list of the Isle of Wight Archaeology and Historic Environment Service.A. Gold object1. Bracteate (no. 2; finder: Mr D. Mulcahy)Date: Late 5th-6th centuryDescription: A round gold pendant with an attachment loop at the top, now ripped off along the front and squashed, and with a beaded wire along the edge of the disc. The pendant is decorated with an interlaced animal in Animal Style I. It is shown from the right with its head turned backwards. The body parts are drawn in sections but form a coherent creature with a semicircular head with an eye and a beak, a long neck and S-shaped body with a large, round shoulder and hip from which a front leg and a hind leg arise that cross body and neck several times before ending in curved feet. In the centre of the disk the imprint of the compass hole that was used to make the die and in the outer zone the imprint of the edge of the die can be seen. The bracteate is slightly buckled and the suspension loop partly flattened, probably from disturbance by farming activity. Diameter 29 mm; weight 4.0 gr. Surface metal analysis conducted at the British Museum indicated an approximate gold content of 81-83%, 16-18% silver, and 1% copper.Discussion: This animal is the one most commonly represented on D-bracteates and is known from several finds in Kent including Finglesham (graves D3 and 203), Bifrons (grave 29), Sarre (grave 90), Dover Buckland (grave 20) and more recently the metal-detector find from Northbourne (2005T352, TAR 2005/6, p. 91). It is also the most common D-bracteate animal in Scandinavia and northern Germany (Axboe, Düwel & Hauck 1985-1989; Chadwick Hawkes & Pollard 1981; Bakka 1981; Behr 2010). The only unusual and so far unique feature is the head. It is more simplified than the heads of similar D-bracteate animals that have a curved beak because it consists only of a semicircle, but it also appears to have a curved and pointed ear, a feature that has not been observed on any of the other D-bracteate animals of this type. A semicircular type of head can be found on several Kentish bracteates showing interlaced animals with large open jaws like those from Bifrons (grave 63), Sarre (grave 4) and King's Field. Ears are common on several types of Scandinavian D-bracteate animals that are, however, not represented among the Anglo-Saxon finds. Minor individual deviations from the 'standard' are common on Anglo-Saxon bracteates, suggesting that they were made locally and not imported from the Continent or Scandinavia. (Description and discussion by Dr C. Behr.)B. Silver objects2. Silver fragment of a square-headed brooch of Kentish type with traces of gilding; width, 27 mm (1; finder, D. Cole). All that survives are the lower central section of the head-plate with an empty triangular collet and the upper end of the bow. The type can be dated to the 6th century. It appears to be part of the same brooch as the fragment from the 2003T208 case (DCMS TAR 2003, no. 120.3).3. Silver fragment from the centre of the head-plate of a miniature square-headed brooch, decorated with a cracked garnet disc between two quatrefoil scrolls; width, 21 mm (3; finder, T. Winch). It derives from the same type of brooch as a fragment from West Wight (DCMS TAR 2004, no. 88e).4. Gilded silver fragment of one of the semicircular ends of an equal-arm brooch; width, 16 mm (4; finder, A. Greenwood). In the central collet is a damaged semicircular garnet beneath a pair of chip-carved eye motifs. A complete example was found at the Chessell Down Anglo-Saxon cemetery and the type also occurs in France.5. Silver-gilt fragments (four) from the bowl of a sieve spoon; width, 13 mm (max) (5; finder, D. Cole). They derive from the fragmentary spoon in the 2003T208 case (DCMS TAR 2003, no. 120.1).C. Non-precious metal objects6. Gilded copper-alloy miniature disc brooch with damaged edges; diameter, 18 mm (6; finder, R. Armiger). It is decorated with a series of short grooves radiating from a central roundel that appears to be a corroded collet for an inlay. A similar brooch was found at Chessell Down, grave 69 and the main distribution lies in Kent and northern France.7. Copper-alloy fragment with traces of gilding from an S-shaped brooch; length, 17 mm (7; finder, B. Winch). The scrolled jaws of one of the two animal heads survive on one side. A complete example comes from Chessell Down, grave 69. The brooch is an Anglo-Saxon version of a narrow Scandinavian type related to more common continental types, which are proportionally broader.The five precious metal finds from Freshwater would qualify as Treasure under two of the stipulated criteria of the Treasure Act: they are more than 300 years old and the precious metal content exceeds 10%. The two non-precious metal pieces would also qualify as Treasure by association.
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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