BUCKLE

An unusual copper alloy buckle plate of medieval date. The plate is long and rectangular and features attachment fittings at either end which makes it rather unusual.

The object comprises a front and a back plate, and is made from a single sheet folded across the middle forming the two plates. There is a notch cut into the fold, apparently a pin slot, in which a copper-alloy bar can be seen still in situ but broken at either end; the rest of any buckle frame is missing. There are no frame recesses, and in fact the plate flares slightly here. The front plate is largely complete, and is decorated with incised linear decoration. There is a rectangular panel with a single-line incised border, with perhaps three sets of double diagonal lines incised across the panel. At the end nearest to the notched fold there is a V-shaped line pointing towards the fold, with longitudinal incised lines to either side.

The other end of the front plate is also folded round and bent back on itself to form a small secondary back plate which is riveted in place on the reverse with a copper alloy rivet. There is a narrow copper-alloy bar through this fold also, which extends to either side and has a circular cross-section. Here the fold has no central slot but does have frame recesses. The back plate proper is similar to the front, but the end has broken off, exposing the rivet beneath. The back plate is undecorated. The metal is a pitted mid reddish-brown colour.

This object may alternatively be related to late medieval and early post-medieval book clasps.