SCABBARD

A folded copper-alloy decorative plate, probably from a scabbard or scabbard chape of late Iron Age, probably La Tene III, date. The object has been formed from a single sheet of metal which has been folded, seemingly deliberately, over on both sides to form a tube, resembling a sword or dagger chape. The object is adorned on the front with finely stamped Repoussé decoration (hammered from the reverse onto a mould). The design consists of a central rectangular bordered field, within which there is a lozenge containing three abstract curvilear motifs, each separated by a horizontal collared rectangular border. At the top of the object, at the recessed end, there is a crescent shaped motif with the points of the crescent projecting downwards. The complete side of the object that has been folded over is decorated with a series of vertical linear motifs with flared, curved terminals, each one getting longer until they reach the edge. The decoration on the opposite folded edge is more difficult to make out as this side is incomplete and suffers from wear and corrosion. The decorative fields on the folded parts of the object on the reverse appear to be distinct from the decorative field on the front.

The object is damaged, with multiple breaks along the edges where it has been folded and approximately half of one of the folded rear sections has been lost. However, the object appears to be largely complete at the top and bottom and only this small section appears to be missing. The object is in poor condition however, suffering from abrasion and corrosion.

It measures 95.86 mm long, 25.41 mm wide at the top, the sheet is 1.52 mm thick and it weighs 26.7 grams. Where the surface patina survives this is dark green in colour, although in many parts this has been lost due to abrasion and in these places the metal has a brown hue. The parts of the object that have deteriorated through corrosion are a bright to pale green in colour.