ESS-726123: ESS-726123, Iron Age strap union

Rights Holder: Colchester Museums
CC License:

Image use policy

Our images can be used under a CC BY attribution licence (unless stated otherwise).

STRAP FITTING

Unique ID: ESS-726123

Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow status: Awaiting validation

A cast copper alloy Iron Age strap union of figure of eight type (Taylor and Brailsford Type 1). The plate consists of two facing crescents, D-shaped in section and decorated with raised swirling ‘hollowed joint’ decoration. The plate is flanked on each side by a vertical strap bar. The vertical bars are attached to the main plate at each end by small flat perpendicular plates. Between the two crescents is a circular recess which is empty but would appear (from the presence of a protruding rivet) to have held something decorative, perhaps enamelling. This recess has a beaded border. The reverse of the main plate is plain (apart from the other end of the rivet) and flat. The object’s patina is dark brown with patches of very dark brown and there are patches of mid green corrosion product. Weight 31.4g, length 41.33mm, width 34.2mm, thickness 7.18mm. These types of strap union carry on in use into the Roman period . They date from the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD and were made for use with a horse harness or personal wear. Similar but not exact examples can be seen in RJ Taylor and JW Brailsford, 1985, ‘British Iron Age Strap-Unions’ in the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society 51, 247-272.

Class: Strap Union
Sub class: Taylor and Brailsford Type 1

Subsequent actions

Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder

Chronology

Broad period: IRON AGE
Subperiod from: Middle
Period from: IRON AGE
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: ROMAN
Date from: Circa 200 BC
Date to: Circa AD 200

Dimensions and weight

Quantity: 1
Length: 41.33 mm
Width: 34.2 mm
Thickness: 7.18 mm
Weight: 31.4 g

Discovery dates

Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 24th November 2009

Personal details

This information is restricted for your access level.

Other reference numbers

Other reference: Museum OEF no. 5934

Materials and construction

Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Complete

Spatial metadata

Region: Eastern (European Region)
County or Unitary authority: Essex (County)
District: Uttlesford (District)
Parish or ward: White Roothing (Civil Parish)

Spatial coordinates

4 Figure: TL5615
Four figure Latitude: 51.811868
Four figure longitude: 0.261572
1:25K map: TL5615
1:10K map: TL51NE
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.

Discovery metadata

Method of discovery: Metal detector
General landuse: Cultivated land

References cited

Author	Publication Year	Title	Publication Place	Publisher	Pages	Reference
Taylor, J.A. and Brailsford, J.W.	1985	British Iron Age Strap-Unions	London	The Prehistoric Society	247-272

Similar objects

Find number: ESS-4ACC81
Object type: STRAP FITTING
Broadperiod: IRON AGE
Late Iron Age to early Roman cast copper alloy strap union. The central section is an openwork 'figure of eight' with the outer edge of each …
Workflow: Awaiting validation

Find number: WAW-850EC1
Object type: HARNESS FITTING
Broadperiod: IRON AGE
Iron Age to Roman (c. 200 BC to AD c. 200) harness fitting/strap union: The copper alloy strap union is composed of a sub-rectangular central …
Workflow: Published

Find number: WILT-4C8F72
Object type: STRAP FITTING
Broadperiod: IRON AGE
A Late Iron Age to Early Roman (100 BC - AD 100) cast copper alloy strap union/ junction similar to Taylor and Brailsford's no. 4 (Type 1) and…
Workflow: Awaiting validation

Timeline of associated dates

Report a mistake

Audit data

Recording Institution: ESS
Created: 14 years ago
Updated: 13 years ago

Other formats: this page is available as qrcode json xml geojson pdf rdf representations.