|
Date: |
|
Description: | One half of a Medieval copper-alloy swivel.The piece would originally have comprised two linked, D-shaped frames. The surviving side is of lozenge-shaped section, flaring at either end, terminating in a pair of inward-facing, zoomorphic heads. Each head has a pair of moulded ears at the top and a sloping, straight-sided brow with two roughly executed, sub-rectangular eyes; there is a downward step to the muzzle/upper jaw, which bears a series of parallel grooves. The flat undersides of these jaws flank a circular-sectioned aperture, into which the spigot of the opposing side of the swivel would have fitted.Length: 27.7mm; height: 22.8mm; thickness/width at base: 11.2mm; weight: 9.5g.This relatively common form of swivel is well represented on the PAS database, close parallels being YORYM-2298E3 (Saxton With Scarthingwell, North Yorks) and SUR-D16136 (White Waltham, Berks). Despite the Romanesque appearance of the zoomorphic heads, Helen Geake (2001: 72) believes that swivels of this form were probably in use throughout most of the Medieval period.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
|