The Portable Antiquities Scheme

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Terminal of one-half of a silver-gilt Frankish arm-ring. The terminal is cast in the form of a lion or horse's head with the muzzle truncated by a solid rectangular plate set with two square cut garnets. The remains of a corroded iron catch pin remain on the inner surface. Above, the head assumes a more naturalistic aspect with moulded eye-sockets both originally filled with a poorly cut circular plate garnet; only one survives. Above the eyes are two deep cut cells filled with lentoid plate garnets, also poorly cut, representing prick ears held close to the head. No foils can be seen beneath the surviving garnets. The vertical space between the ears and eyes is filled with a clearly delineated 'spine' that splits into three sharply cast ridges between the eyes. These run back over the head, the outer two ending in curlicues behind the ears from which develop either foliate feet or a stylised mane. The central rib runs on to the border of the decorative panel which is defined by a single groove. The terminal is broken immediately behind the animal head, but the casting would originally have continued to end in a hinged fitting that would have linked it to a similar casting, forming the complete arm-ring. The two halves would have been fastened by a catch pin at the muzzle. Traces of iron (above) suggest that this was of iron. The design of the catch is obscured by corrosion.

85% silver.

Discussion: The arm-ring is an import into the Kingdom of Kent and dates from the late 5th/early 6th century. It has immediate parallels in Frankia, where a very similar, and complete, example was found in a grave at Marchélepot (Somme). Like the Wrotham arm-ring, the Marchélepot example is also silver-gilt with well shaped garnet inlays representing the eyes and ears. The catch fitting truncating the muzzle is inlaid with three square-cut garnets. The Marchélepot arm-ring is dated to about AD 500. A second example in copper-alloy inlaid with garnets was found near Beauvais (Oise) and this is also dated to the late 5th/early 6th centuries, as is a third example from Versigny (Aisne). Similar, slightly earlier arm-rings are also known from Hunnic contexts as far east as the Ukraine, for example the remarkably fine arm-ring from Dunapataj-Bödpusta grave 1, which is dated to the middle of the 5th century.

• DCMS, 2000. Treasure Annual Report 1998-1999 : , pppp.25-6.

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Created: Tuesday 30th January 2001
Updated: Tuesday 27th March 2012