MOUNT

A complete copper-alloy lion-headed mount of Roman date. The artefact is circular in plan, its diameter gradually decreasing towards the top, in a series of clearly defined steps. At the base is a plain, almost vertical rim which is damaged in places. A concentric groove separates this rim from a less steeply angled step, the surface of which has been incised with a number of short, radiating grooves, creating the impression of a mane. The next upwards step, the face, has a vertical side and its upper surface bears a pair of ring-and-dot punch marks, representing the eyes, and two or three vertical grooves for the mouth. These features are separated from each other by the final upward step, the muzzle which is vertical-sided and has several recessed pellet marks at the centre of its flat upper surface. The underside of the mount is hollow and part of a circular-sectioned iron rivet protrudes downwards from the centre. The iron corrosion has leached onto the front surface.

The mount is 17.8mm in diameter, 11.8mm high, 2.8mm thick and weighs 8.01 grams.

Several similar lion-headed mounts were found in excavations at Skeleton Green, Hertfordshire, in association with mid 1st to 2nd century burial caskets (see Borrill in Partridge 1981: 314-318). Parallels recorded on the PAS database include BH-02F2E4, BH-570C17 and BH-0DE347.