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STIRRUP
Unique ID: BUC-1693A1
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
An incomplete 11th-century copper-alloy stirrup-strap mount of late early-medieval date, Williams Class B, no Type. The artefact represents around half of what was originally a rectangular mount with angled flange. In openwork, the mount bears the hind leg and curled tail of a left facing beast. The top of the tail, the rear paw and an element that emerges from the rear of the beast connect with the thin frame. The upper and side strips of the frame are decorated with a median groove. These strips are also finely notched at their outer edges. The beast is decorated with grooves which delineate claws and the tail, as well as areas of ?fur on the body. At the top corner of the frame, set slightly along the upper strip is a rivet hole filled with iron corrosion product from the rivet. A further rivet hole is present on this fragment, set along the flange, and abraded through, without any rivet present. As well as the old breaks, the object appears to have been bent back slightly at the break in the top frame. The metal has corroded to a red/brown colour, with some patches of green corrosion product.
This type of stirrup-strap mount has been seen as an archetypally Danish form (Pedersen 2004, 53). This example is more highly decorated than pieces documented by Williams (1997, 106-108; refs. C6, C12, C21) from modern-day Sweden, Denmark and Germany; images of these are published together by Pedersen (1997, 146; fig. 19).
Find of note status
This is a find of note and has been designated: National importance
Class:
strap mount
Sub class: Williams Class B, no Type
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Ascribed Culture:
Anglo-Scandinavian style
Date from: Circa AD 1000
Date to: Circa AD 1100
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 40.62 mm
Width: 28.56 mm
Thickness: 3.21 mm
Weight: 13.81 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Monday 26th March 2012
Personal details
This information is restricted for your access level.
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Manufacture method: Cast
Decoration style: Zoomorphic
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: South East (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Buckinghamshire (County)
District: Aylesbury Vale (District)
To be known as: Wing
Spatial coordinates
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedersen, A. | 1997 | Riding gear from Late Viking- Age Denmark | Odense | Odense University Press | 46 | 19 | |
| Pedersen, A. | 2004 | Anglo-Danish Contact across the North Sea in the Eleventh Century | Turnhout | Brepols | 53 | ||
| Williams, D. | 1997 | Late Saxon Stirrup-Strap Mounts: A Classification and Catalogue | York | CBA Research Report 111 | 106-107 | 6, 12 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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