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Description: | Two separate parts of what were probably linked strap fittings for a leather strap, probably from part of a horse's harness. Both pieces have loops at one end, and these are probably where they were linked. One is particularly bent out of shape. One of the fittings has a sub-rectangular plate for attachment which has two integrally cast rivets for attachment. The reverse of the plate is faceted, making it triangular in section, and there is a collar before the loop. Traces of gilding survive on this surface. The object terminates shortly after the second rivet, and the smooth patina on this section suggests that this is not a break and represents the intended end of the fitting. The loop however, does appear to be broken. This piece of the fitting measures 39.03 mm long, 9.5 mm wide, 4.5 mm thick at its thickest and weighs 12.4 grams.The second piece of the fitting has a similar loop at one end, although this is very bent and looks to be broken at the looped end. Where the other looped fitting has rivets, this fitting has holes. However, the two were clearly not designed to fasten together via these rivets and rivet holes, as the rivet holes are too widely spaced for the rivets, the rivets are too thick for the holes and one of the holes contains a separate loose copper-alloy rivet, for attachment to a separate entity. The second link terminates shortly after the second rivet hole, and is not broken at this end. The two links are therefore certainly separate and if linked, as seems likely, they must have been linked by their loops rather than being two parts of a single broken artefact. The second looped fitting also has traces of gilding which survive on its exterior surface. This piece measures 47.09 mm long, 7.1 mm wide, 3.37 mm thick and weighs 5.1 grams (including the loose rivet). The loose rivet measures 11.24 mm long and has a broad head (approximately 3.7 mm across) to stop it passing through the rivet hole.Both pieces are heavily abraded and have a green to brown patina where the surface metal has worn and corroded. Where the surface patina survives it is a brown to dark brown in colour and retains traces of gilding.A similar example, recorded as SUR-A52984 on this database, serves as a complete example of how these two separate strap fittings would have been linked through their loops. The example also shows how the broken loops would have originally continued to form bars which would have been joined to their respective rivets and rivet holes, facilitating attachment of a leather strap. Other similar examples recorded on this database include SUSS-155187 and SF-FC0CA7. The latter has been compared to similar mounts which occur among the bridle set from Sutton Hoo mound 17, where sometimes two or three similar mounts are attached to a single loop, bringing two or three sets of straps together from different directions. A miniature version of the same arrangement is among objects found with Middle Saxon materials at Coddenham and recorded in this scheme (taken from record SF-FC0CA7, no database record provided). This fitting is likely to be Anglo-Saxon or Medieval in date.
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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STRAP END
An incomplete and bent copper-alloy…
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