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Description: | Surface metal analysis conducted at the British Museum indicated an approximate silver content for the fragment of 80%, the remainder being copper and gold; it is mercury gilded and weighs 3.14 grams.The find consists of an elongated, hexagonal fragment of thick strip which has been broken in antiquity across the two short ends; length, 25 mm surviving; width, 15 mm (max). It displays deeply carved symmetrical decoration enclosed by a plain frame and consisting of two pairs of triangular motifs pointing to the centre and drawn into scrolls at the opposite ends, with the apices flanked by two pairs of similar, but smaller motifs and a single tear shape on either side of the centre of the strip. In the centre is a ball-headed rivet which has been given a cruciform appearance when viewed from above by four deep, equidistant vertical grooves round the sides. The piece is possibly part of one of a pair of elongated lozenge-shaped connecting plates as found on the set of three linked pins from the River Witham, Lincolnshire, which date from the 8th century (D.M. Wilson, 1964, Anglo-Saxon Ornamental Metalwork 700-1100 in the British Museum, London,cat. no. 19, pl. 18). But the ornament is difficult to parallel, while the decorative rivet is an unusual feature and the deep carving is more typical of Carolingian metalwork of the 9th-10th centuries, perhaps representing geometricised acanthus. The fragment seems unlikely to be any later in date, however. The find from the Market Rasen area would therefore qualify as Treasure under two of the stipulated criteria of the Treasure Act: it is more than 300 years old and the precious metal content exceeds 10%. Note: The fragment was found near the ingot reported as 2009 T471, about 4 to 5 feet apart. But this is not close enough for it to constitute part of the "same find".B.M. Ager
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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