BRACTEATE

A complete Early-Medieval (Anglo-Saxon) gold bracteate (c. AD 500 - c. AD 550).

The bracteate consists of a gold sheet disc with a rim of beaded wire soldered to the edge at the front and a repoussé zoomorphic decoration. A separate suspension loop is formed by a ribbed strip and is soldered to the disc. The decoration consists of an interlaced animal that is typical for type D-bracteates. Its head is underneath the loop. The design was stamped with a die and the relief was then reworked with a pointed tool both from the reverse and the obverse. The border zone is plain. The bracteate is well preserved with only slight signs of wear on the loop and edging wire.

More than 940 gold bracteates are known from the second half of the 5th and first half of the 6th centuries. Most of them have been found in Scandinavia but some 50 are from Anglo-Saxon England where the most common type are D-bracteates. The majority of the English D-bracteates have been found in wealthy female graves in eastern Kentish cemeteries (see, for example, the recent find from East Kent 2005 T352, 2005/6 Treasure Annual Report, forthcoming). A few others come from East Anglia (see Blakeney Freshes, North Norfolk 2003 T35, 2003 Treasure Annual Report). The new find from Near Shalfleet is linked stylistically to D-bracteates that have been found in Kent, East Anglia, Frisia, northern Germany and southern Scandinavia, especially Jutland, but there is no closely comparable design. With a weight of under 2 gr this pendant is lighter than the Scandinavian finds and comparable to the on average lighter Continental and English finds (Axboe 2007, p. 82ff.). The rather simple loop, the low weight and the dissolved design suggest that the bracteate was not an import but made locally.