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Description: | An incomplete copper alloy and gilt Early Medieval cruciform harness mount dating to the 6th Century. The mount consists of a lozengiform body with slightly concave sides and four large circular terminals, one of which is missing due to an old break. It has a very thin rectangular section. The central body of the mount is decorated with a chip-carved lozenge-shaped border, within which is a simple raised cross with a raised pellet in each corner. This cross and dot design is also present in each of the three remaining terminals. One of the terminals has a central integral rivet to the reverse, while the two either side have a crude (probably secondary) rivet hole in a top outer corner of the design. There are traces of gilding on the central design and on each of the terminals, while the reverse is flat and undecoratedThe object measures 30.90mm by 22.59, is c.1.7mm thick and weighs 2.56g. The circular terminals have a diameter of c.8mm.This mount is a good example of a two-way strap junction fitting from the head-harness of a horse and would probably have been one of a pair or even four mounts. A similar mount from Cambridgeshire is recorded on the database as BH-9316D2. Although only one is visible there may have originally been four integral rivets on the terminals and perhaps even a central one. It is possible the crude secondary rivet holes are an attempt to repair the item, but they most likely point to re-use, perhaps as a woman's dress ornament. This view is supported by the significant number of strap-junction fittings which have been found in women's graves, adapted for use as brooches[1].The most common decoration on this form (cruciform, lozenge-shaped body, circular or square terminals) is in Salin's Style I, with examples known from South Leckaway[2], Lyminge[3] and Pakenham[4]. This firmly dates it to the 6th Century.[1]Dickinson, T.F., Fern.C and M.A. Hall. 2006. An Early Anglo-Saxon Bridle-fitting from South Leckway, Forfar, Angus, Scotland. Medieval Archaeology 50, 256.[2]Dickinson, T.F., Fern.C and M.A. Hall. 2006. An Early Anglo-Saxon Bridle-fitting from South Leckway, Forfar, Angus, Scotland. Medieval Archaeology 50, 249-60. [3] http://blogs.reading.ac.uk/lyminge/2012/10/12/conservation-reveals-wonderful-details/ (Accessed 17 Feburary 2015).[4] West, S.E., 1998.A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Material From Suffolk. Ipswich: Suffolk County Council, 240, fig. 122.4.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/ | Go to resource |
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