|
Date: |
|
Description: | Early Medieval cast copper alloy strap end of Thomas Class E type 4 with interlaced Borre style decoration. The flat strap end is tongue shaped with a straight upper edge and straight sides which curve in at the end to form the rounded lower edge with a projecting rounded knop in the centre. The back is plain. There is slight damage to one side were a rounded chip (c.5%) has been lost to old damage. The strap end thickens slightly towards the upper edge and originally split at the top into a front and back part with a gap between for the strap. Only the front part survives leaving a distinct step in on the back to a thinner upper edge. By the upper edge are three circular rivet holes, one centrally and one in each corner. The central one is filled with iron corrosion and there is some iron corrosion in one of the corner holes suggesting they had iron rivets.On the front is a raised interlaced design with paired lines making a complicated knot pattern around a central concave sided rectangle which extends at its lower edge into three points. Two upper lines curl outwards opposite each other int he top corners giving the suggestion of a debased frontal face design. In the upper part there are traces of material in the grooves. Niello cannot be ruled out but these appear to be more of the iron corrosion from the rivets. It is 40.9mm long, 25.3mm wide and 2.4mm thick; it weighs 9.24 grams.This is a relatively rare type of strap end, most Borre style strap ends are known from East Anglia and have either a simple interlaced ring chain design or a facing animal. On this database YORYM-669BF4 from the East Riding of Yorkshire and NLM400 form North Lincolnshire appear similar. The Borre style was current in Scandinavia in the late 9th and 10th centuries and probably emerged in England in the late 9th century (Kershaw 2012:3).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
More Like this...
-
-
STRAP END
An incomplete copper-alloy strap end…
-
-
strap end
An incomplete copper-alloy strap end…
-
STRAP END
An incomplete copper-alloy strap end…
-
-
-
HOARD
Hoard of 23 coins, four…
-
STRAP END
Copper alloy fragment, probably from…
-
STRAP END
Early Medieval copper alloy strap-end…
|