STRAP END

A copper alloy medieval strap end. The object has a cast front plate and a sheet back plate (at the attachment end only) which is riveted on. The closed end is decorated with a zoomorphic head, perhaps a dog, with his tongue protruding from his mouth. The tip of the tongue is divided into a cross. The animal head has a clearly modelled snout, oval eyes formed by incised lines, further chevron lines representing the hair on the head and raised rounded ears. The head of the animal is twice as wide and thick as the body of the strap end which is sub-rectangular in section. It flares slightly towards the attachment end. The end of the cast plate is recessed to leave space for a sheet back plate which is attached with two rivets. The strap end is 56.15mm long, 7.65mm wide and 6.26mm thick. It weighs 7.08g.

Compare LVPL-A4FDB2 and the similarly constructed strap-ends from London (Egan and Pritchard 1991, nno. 614, from a late 14th-century context) and Meols (Griffiths et al 2007, 134-135, nos. 1544 and 1545). The style of animal head can also be seen on vessel spouts of this period. A 14th or 15th century date seems most likely.

An example is known from Church Close, Hartlepool, there found in a late 14th- to late 15th-century context (Jackson in Daniels 1991, 371-371; fig. 23, no. 22).