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HARNESS MOUNT
Unique ID: HAMP-6520C6
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
A slightly corroded cast copper-alloy medieval shield-shaped stud or mount. The shield (Th.: c. 2.6mm) is of the common 'heater' shape, that is, with a flat top, and sides which curve steeply to a point. The mount features a central, integrally cast stud projecting for c. 21.0mm. The stud has a square cross-section and tapers from a width of c. 6.0mm to a point slightly bent and broken at its very tip. The length of this stud suggests that this object might have been mounted onto a solid object such as a casket or chest (Griffiths 1989, 1; ref. 3b). The front of the mount is decorated heraldically with a lion rampant left with forked tail. Traces of blue enamel survive within a recessed field, between the animal and the border. This design on the same colour ground - azure, a lion rampant queue fourchée [or/argent] - can be seen rendered more crudely on a smaller mount illustrated in Read (2001, 32; ref. 257). The whole object has corroded to a variable mid-dark green colour; the original colour of the lion cannot be discerned, although is is likely to have been gold or silver (gilded or tinned) as it is in relief and so could not hold enamel. The lion in gold/silver on blue are popular charges held by several people at different times with small differences that may not be placed on a stud. There are traces of iron corrosion product on and around the stud and also on the lower part of the shield. This latter has been struck in the past leading to a slight depression and fracture.
Class:
heraldic
Sub class: stud
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1250
Date to: Circa AD 1350
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 29.7 mm
Width: 23.8 mm
Thickness: 23.25 mm
Weight: 10.35 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 1st January 2008 - Tuesday 19th May 2009
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: E2622
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete
Surface Treatment: Inlaid with enamel
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Hampshire (County)
District: Basingstoke and Deane (District)
Parish or ward: Sherfield on Loddon (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SU6755
Four figure Latitude: 51.290201
Four figure longitude: -1.040567
1:25K map: SU6755
1:10K map: SU65NE
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Griffiths, N. | 1989 | Circulation of Metal in the British Bronze Age: The Application of Lead Isotope Analysis | Finds Research Group 700-1700 Datasheet 12 | 1 | 3b | ||
| Read, B. | 2001 | Metal artefacts of antiquity: A catalogue of small finds from specific areas of the United Kingdom | Langport | Portcullis Publishing | 32 | 257 |
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