Rights Holder: Somerset County Council
CC License:
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Unique ID: SOM-9ABAE0
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
Early Medieval cast copper alloy strap end of Thomas Class E, Type 4 with interlaced Borre style decoration. The flat strap end is tongue shaped with a straight upper edge and straight sides which curve in at the end to form the rounded lower edge with a projecting rounded knop in the centre. The back is plain. There is slight damage to one side were a rounded chip (c.5%) has been lost to old damage. The strap end thickens slightly towards the upper edge and originally split at the top into a front and back part with a gap between for the strap. Only the front part survives leaving a distinct step in on the back to a thinner upper edge. By the upper edge are three circular rivet holes, one centrally and one in each corner. The central one is filled with iron corrosion and there is some iron corrosion in one of the corner holes suggesting they had iron rivets.
On the front is a raised interlaced design with paired lines making a complicated knot pattern around a central concave sided rectangle which extends at its lower edge into three points. Two upper lines curl outwards opposite each other int he top corners giving the suggestion of a debased frontal face design. In the upper part there are traces of material in the grooves. Niello cannot be ruled out but these appear to be more of the iron corrosion from the rivets. It is 40.9mm long, 25.3mm wide and 2.4mm thick; it weighs 9.24 grams.
This is a relatively rare type of strap end, most Borre-style strap ends are known from East Anglia and have either a simple interlaced ring chain design or a facing animal. On this database YORYM-669BF4 from the East Riding of Yorkshire and NLM400 form North Lincolnshire appear similar. The Borre style was current in Scandinavia in the late 9th and 10th centuries and probably emerged in England in the late 9th century (Kershaw 2010, 3).
Kershaw (2012: pers comm) has commented: The decoration on the front face of the strap-end consists of raised symmetrical interlace with scrolled terminals and looping, contoured strands with tendril-like ends, positioned on either side of a concave-sided sub-rectangular rib. No animal elements are visible, but comparisons with a strap-end from Wharram Percy suggest that the design has a zoomorphic origin (Paterson 2000, 128, Plate 11). On the Wharram strap-end, the central concave-sided feature is ribbed. With this added element, the rib takes on the appearance of a stylised Borre- or Jellinge-style animal torso, while the scrolled terminals resemble the spiral hips, and the subsequent interlace the limbs, of the same creatures. This zoomorphic element is reflected in the angular movements of the scroll on the Mudford strap-end, which finds clear parallels in the sharply-angled hips of Borre-style beasts.
The strap-end from Wharram offers the best parallel for the Mudford item, although the latter is plainer, without the ribbing and border embellishments seen on the Wharram piece. The decorative scheme of both items is, however, ultimately rooted in a Scandinavian tradition, being descended from a motif of two symmetrical Borre/ Jellinge-style creatures arranged over a long axis, which appears on Scandinavian rectangular- and tongue-shaped brooches as well as strap-ends (Wamers 1984, Abb. 14.1, see too Abb. 11.2, 12, 13.1). The debasement in the design of the Mudford piece nonetheless suggests that it was produced in England in an Anglo-Scandinavian setting, whereas the Wharram Percy item is a purely Scandinavian product. The Mudford strap-end can be dated on the basis of its style from the late ninth to mid tenth century, a date that fits with the circulation of tongue-shaped strap-ends more generally.
A similar discussion has been published by Kershaw (2015, 90-91), with the find illustrated in the same publication (Kershaw 2015, 91; fig. 6.5).
Notes:
Kindly donated to the Museum of Somerset, Taunton, by the finder.
This is a find of note and has been designated: Regional importance
Class: Thomas Class E, Type 4
Current location of find: Museum of Somerset
Subsequent action after recording: Donated to a museum
Broad period: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Subperiod to: Late
Period to: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 875
Date to: Circa AD 1000
Quantity: 1
Length: 40.9 mm
Width: 25.3 mm
Thickness: 2.4 mm
Weight: 9.24 g
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 5th March 2012
This information is restricted for your access level.
Other reference: SCC reciept 20732
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Completeness: Incomplete
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kershaw, J. | 2010 | Viking-Age Scandinavian art styles and their appearance in the British Isles Part 1: Early Viking-Age art styles, Datasheet 42 | Oxford | The Finds Research Group AD700-1700 | |||
Kershaw, J. | 2015 | Scandinavian-style Metalwork from Southern England: New Light on the ‘First Viking Age’ in Wessex | Oxford | Oxbow Books | 90-91 | 6.5 | |
Thomas, G. | 2003 | Late Anglo-Saxon and Viking-age strap-ends 750-1100. Part 2 | Finds Research Group 700-1700 |