BUCKLE

The object is an oval buckle frame with recessed plate. The buckle dates to the Medieval or 14th -16th centuries. It is made of cast copper alloy and is incomplete.

In plan the frame is oval. The loop is sub-oval in section and is widest at the apex which is 3.3mm wide and 1.7mm thick. The width of the loop gradually tapers inwards towards the strap bar. The thickness of the loop however, is the same throughout. In section the frame is flat. The pin is sub-rectangular in section and heavily corroded. A rectangular shaped portion of the pin is curled around the strap bar. The rest of the pin is missing.

The strap plate is sub-rectangular in plan and flat in section and is made from a sheet of cast copper alloy. The plate is folded around the strap bar and is recessed to allow for a pin. The possible remains of a heavily corroded rivet are also visible on the plate. The majority of the plate however is missing (not recent breaks).

The object is heavily corroded and in a very poor condition. Red and green copper corrosion is evident otherwise the object is a mid matt brown colour. It is 25.7mm long, 19.8mmm wide and its weight is 2.63g.

Egan and Pritchard (Egan, G and Pritchard, F. 1991 Medieval Finds From Excavations in London: 3. Dress Accessories c.1150 – c.1450, HMSO, London; fig.45; no.304) have an example of an oval framed buckle with recessed plate, which is similar in shape and style to the recorded object. The plate however should be viewed as an example, as it is not possible to tell from the fragmentary remains of the recorded object, what the plate would have originally looked like.