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Description: | Cast copper alloy strap fitting. It is sub-rectangular in plan and flat. The terminal of the object has rounded corners. The other end is straighter with two broken tabs protruding, possibly part of a hinge. The upper surface of the object has indented, probably cast decoration, but due to wear and surface treatment it is difficult to identify the production method with certainty. It is gilded and has a zoomorphic and interlaced design. At the complete terminal the design forms an animal head with moulded detail on its eyes, nose and nostrils.The animal head covers about half the length. The upper half has a triple stranded four loop interlace design. On the reverse there are wo rivets, one above the other which are probably integral although almost hammered flat. Above the upper one, just below the end is a short, curved horizontal line of four circular indents, its purpose is unclear. The object has a green patina but there remains some gold coloured gilding on the upper surface. It is 25.2mm long including the tabs, 10.8 mm wide, and 1.7 mm thick; it weighs 2.59 grams.A photograph was examined by Barry Ager of the British Musuem who said: Although there are Visigothic buckles with plates of similar form and double-lugs for hingeing the loop, the decoration is very different...I have shown the image of the fitting to my colleague, Sonja Marzinzik, who, I am sure you will know, is the leading expert in Early Medieval belt-buckles and fittings. But I am afraid that neither she, nor I can suggest a close parallel for this find and its function is unclear, since only stubs remain of the connecting mechanism or hinge. The remains of two rivets on the back would be a little unusual in form for a buckle-plate, although again the damage hinders certain identification and the object is perhaps a strap-end or small hasp of some kind. We both agree that it is probably quite late in date, of around the 7th century or possibly later. A late date might also account for the lack of good parallels, because of the decline in accompanied burial. Apart from that, the fitting appears to be northern European in style, but the lack of comparable pieces makes it hard to be more specific than continental, Scandinavian, or possibly Anglo-Saxon, too.
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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