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STRAP FITTING
Unique ID: LVPL-E29F9E
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A cast copper alloy S-shaped 'snake belt' fastener, dating to the Post-Medieval period, (c. AD 1575 -c.1800). The fastener is decorated on both faces with animal head terminals and with moulded scale-like decoration before a central line of four pellets with a ridged collar on each side. A small copper alloy loop, the ends of which do not join, remains attached to one end of the object. The object has a mid-brown patina and is worn.
S-shaped 'snake belt' fasteners were probably associated with sword belts in the 17th and 18th centuries and parallels can be seen in Read's (2008) Hooked-clasps & Eyes: p230-231. The examples with swan heads are widely considered to be late 16th to 17th century (Geake 2001: 35). Fasteners with snake heads continue in use on military and boys belts well into the 20th century.
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: POST MEDIEVAL
Period from: POST MEDIEVAL
Period to: POST MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1575
Date to: Circa AD 1800
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 29 mm
Width: 15 mm
Thickness: 3.5 mm
Weight: 3.9 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 1st April 2014
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Decoration style: Zoomorphic
Completeness: Complete
Spatial metadata
Region: East Midlands (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Lincolnshire (County)
District: North Kesteven (District)
To be known as: Washingborough
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From finder
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geake, H. | 2001 | Finds Recording Guide Version 1.1 |
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