BUCKLE

A large cast copper-alloy medieval/post-medieval double-looped buckle, incomplete in so far as it is missing its pin. The frame is formed of two rectangular loops with moulded rosettes at the corners. Each rosette is formed of a central pellet with a semicircular petal at each cardinal point, in the same alignment as the bars of the frame. Each petal is recessed towards its terminal. The frame is bevelled both internally and externally on the upper surface; the lower surface is flat. The pin bar is trapezoidal in cross-section. It has been bent to one side near its centre as a result of old damage; as noted, the pin is missing. In addition, the short bars of the frame now incurve. One of the longer bars also incurves, following separate damage. The frame is a red/brown colour with some patches of dark-green patina surviving in places.

In module and design this buckle is comparable to an example illustrated in Whitehead (2003, 78; no. 485). This is dated between c. 1450 and 1600; a date towards the beginning of this range might be preferable based on the form of the rosettes and similar examples excavated from medieval layers in London and Salisbury (Egan and Pritchard 1991, 103; no. 471; Goodall 2012, 128; no. 99).