Rights Holder: Somerset County Council
CC License:
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Unique ID: SOM-6231A5
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
Medieval cast copper alloy harness mount for suspending harness pendants.The mount is in two parts, a base bar which would have been attached to a strap and a projecting arm from which the pendants would be suspended. The base has a rectangular loop to one side through which a strap would have run. Attached to one end of this is a circular expansion, D-shaped in section with a flat back and domed front and with a central perforation for the arm. On the other side of this circular section is a transverse bar. At either end of the bar a integral circular sectioned rivet projects from the base; the rivets taper towards the end before finishing in slight thickened expansions. This is an unusual form for these mounts as usually there is a second rectangular loop at this point in line with the first but they do vary in design and this is presumably designed to fit on to a different part of the harness or saddle than others. The base bar is bent and now 25.3mm long, 11.4mm thick (at the loop) and 16.7mm wide.
The arm is circular in section and tapers slightly from the attached end to the terminal. It probably originally rotated freely in the base bar but is now corroded solid. At the opposite end the arm terminates in a very short transverse bar both ends of which are split. The splits have rounded ends each with a circular perforation. A cross bar would have run across the splits on which the pendant would have swung. The angle may suggest these were used with pendants with the loop on the side or on the end of a projection rather than the top. The arm is bent and now 39.8mm long, 5.2mm in diameter at the base and 15.7mm by 6.5mm at the terminal.
It weighs 10.85 grams.
Similar fittings, varying in the form of the arms, are shown in Griffiths (1986:4, no.22-24) and on the PAS database; NMS-7C7611. They are dated to the late 13th to 14th century.
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1250
Date to: Circa AD 1400
Quantity: 1
Length: 25.3 mm
Height: 29.8 mm
Width: 16.1 mm
Thickness: 11.4 mm
Weight: 10.85 g
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 16th April 2012
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Other reference: SCC reciept 22023
Grid reference source: GPS (from the finder)
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Griffiths, N. | 1986 | Horse Harness Pendants | Finds Research Group 700-1700 Datasheet 5 |