Record ID: KENT2655 - EARLY MEDIEVAL buckle

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BUCKLE

Unique ID: KENT2655

Object type certainty: Certain

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Silver gilt buckle with a triangular plate, recently broken in two pieces. The oval loop of D-shaped section, is cast in one with the plate. It has a false shield-on-tonge composed of two stepped, crescentic panels, each decorated with a band of interlace now obscured by corrosion. The base of the tongue is an elongated oval, the tip is now missing. At the junction of the loop and plate, on each side of the narrow flange bordering the latter, is a garnet-inlaid collared boss with a beaded rim. One of the garnets is a cabochon, the other is flat-cut and was presumably a replacement in antiquity. These bosses are purely decorative, unlike those found at the end of the transverse pin which secures the loop to the plate on other surviving examples where the loop is actually hinged. The plate originally had three domed rivets. The lateral pair nearest the loop are no missing; the large basal rivet has a beaded wire collar. There is a narrow band of Style II zoomorphic interlace along each side of the plate flanking a central panel containing incised ornament obscured by corrosion. All that is currently visible is a V-shaped element immediately above the basal rivet. This may be the tail of a fish. The plate is hollow, and part of the flanged edge is broken away. On the back, immediately below the loop is a rectangular panel, also gilt, now cracked and damaged, engraved with a Style II animal. The remains of two rivet shanks are visible, the third is now missing. These would have secured a separate sheet metal back-plate, now lost.

Subsequent actions

Current location of find: Royal Museum, Canterbury

Chronology

Broad period: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Period from: EARLY MEDIEVAL [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Date from: Circa AD 600
Date to: AD 650

Dimensions and weight

Length: 91 mm
Width: 28 mm
Quantity: 1

Materials and construction

Primary material: Silver [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Surface Treatment: Gilded [scope notes | view all attributed records]

Spatial data

Region: South East And London
County: Kent
District: Canterbury
To be known as: KENT LITTLEBOURNE

Method of discovery: Metal detector [scope notes]
General landuse: Cultivated land [scope notes]
Specific landuse: Character undetermined [scope notes]

Discovery dates

Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 1st December 1998

Personal details

Found by: This information is restricted for your login.
Recorded by: Michael Lewis - [ view all attributed records]
Identified by: Angela Evans - [view all attributed records]

Other reference numbers

References cited

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