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Description: | A lead-alloy object in the form of a Medieval shield-shaped harness pendant.The upper surface of the shield bears what is probably a pseudo-heraldic device comprising four horizontal bars, each defined by an upper and lower ridge and containing three pellets, or 'bezants'. An indented saltire near the bottom of the design is probably a casting flaw. The right-angled loop extends from the centre of the flat top side. There is a circular depression on either side of this loop, but the two do not join up to create an aperture. The underside of the pendant is flat and plain, and the sides are vertical.Length: 46.8mm; width: 29.8mm; thickness: 6.8mm; weight: 51.4g.A similar lead-alloy shield found at Oxborough, Norfolk, is illustrated and discussed by Steven Ashley (2002: 4, fig. 3). Geoff Egan (1996: 2, cited in Ashley 2002) suggests that such objects were either trial pieces or patrons, durable models which could be pressed into clay to create moulds for multiple harness pendants. The fact that the loop on the example recorded here is unperforated, strongly argues against it having served as a pendant itself.
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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