Record ID: LON-FE5446 - MEDIEVAL buckle

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Buckle

Unique ID: LON-FE5446

Object type certainty: Certain

A resized image of A Medieval buckle made from animal skeletal material (bone) with integral plate dating to the 12th century.

A Medieval buckle made from animal skeletal material (bone) with integral plate dating to the 12th century. The buckle frame is D-shaped and has been carved in one piece with the buckle plates. The pin pivots on a dowel; the end of which is visible on one side only. The frame has a notched pin rest and is decorated with carved diagonal lines. These diagonal lines are overlain by concentric V-shaped lines around the pin rest. There is a front and back buckle plate, all carved in one. There are two rivet holes for attachment. The corner of the front plate is broken across one of the rivet holes.

A very similar buckle was excavated from Jedburgh Abbey (Lewis & Ewart 1995:83-4). This excavated example has a similar construction and decoration but does not appear to have the V-shaped variation around the pin rest and it is also made from horn rather than bone. It is dated to the 12th century. A further similar buckle, also made from bone, has also been excavated from a deserted medieval village at Goltho, Lincolnshire (MacGregor (1985:104-5). This buckle is again of similar construction but the decoration varies again with the V-shaped engravings around the pin rest but not the diagonal lines around the rest of the frame; there are also engraved lines forming a border around the front buckle plate. Goltho is an early medieval manor dating c. 850-1150 (Beresford 1987).

Dimensions: length: 32.96mm; width: 25.19mm; thickness: 7.12mm; weight: 5.26g.

Reference: Beresford, G. 1987. Goltho. The Development of an Early Medieval Manor c. 850-1150. English Heritage Archaeological Report 4 London.
Lewis, J. H. & Ewart, G. J. 1995. Jedburgh Abbey. The Archaeology and Architecture of a Border Abbey. Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, Edinburgh. Monograph Series Number 10.
MacGregor, A. 1985. Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn. The Technology of Skeletal Materials since the Roman Period. Croom Helm, London and Sydney.

Notes:

MacGregor (1985:103) writes "the main stylistic developments in buckle design seem always to have taken place in metal, and although buckles are known in bone... from the early Roman to the late medieval period, the majority are copies of metal types. While bone tissue undoubtedly performs better under compression than in tension, its mechanical properties are evidently quite adequate for this task."

Reference: MacGregor, A. 1985. Bone, Antler, Ivory and Horn. The Technology of Skeletal Materials since the Roman Period. Croom Helm, London and Sydney.

This is a find of note and has been designated: National importance

Subsequent actions

Current location of find: Tower of London
Subsequent action after recording: Donated to a museum

Chronology

Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Period to: MEDIEVAL [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Date from: Circa AD 1100
Date to: Circa AD 1200

Dimensions and weight

Length: 32.96 mm
Width: 25.19 mm
Thickness: 7.12 mm
Weight: 5.26 g
Quantity: 1

Materials and construction

Primary material: Animal skeletal material [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Manufacture method: Hand made [scope notes | view all attributed records]
Completeness: Incomplete [scope notes | view all attributed records]

Spatial data

Region: South East And London
County: Greater London
District: Tower Hamlets
Parish: Tower Hamlets

Restricted 4 Figure grid reference: TQ3380
The map has been degraded and provides an approximate location with a degree of random obfuscation.
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.

Method of discovery: Other chance find [scope notes]
General landuse: Open fresh water [scope notes]
Specific landuse: Running water [scope notes]

Rally details.

This object was found at Tower foreshore COLAS open weekend held Saturday 17th July 2010 - Sunday 18th July 2010

Personal details

Found by: This information is restricted for your login.
Recorded by: Mrs Kate Sumnall - [ view all attributed records]
Identified by: Mrs Kate Sumnall - [view all attributed records]

Other reference numbers

References cited

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