BUCKLE

A complete copper alloy single looped oval buckle with two lobed knops and offset bar, typically of Medieval dating (late 12th to late 14th Centuries AD).

It consists of a oval frame, with an narrow offset bar, with a recess for the leather strap. The pin is present. The outer edge of the buckle is decorated. There are two diagonally extending prominent lobed knops, both plain in decorative details. The knops are flanking a recessed central section on the outer edge. This recessed section contains a 'roller' which consists of a piece of grooved sheet metal wrapped around the section.

The back of the buckle is consists of an offset bar. A small sheet of copper alloy has been wrapped around the offset bar. The pin has been made from a thin triangular piece of sheet copper alloy metal. The thick end has been wrapped around the off set bar.

The buckle is a dark green colour, with an even surface patina.

The buckle measures 21.13 mm in length, 22.16 mm wide and 5.42 mm thick. The frame measures 19.75 mm long, 22.16 mm wide and 4.93 mm thick. The pin measures 16,87 mm long, 1.86 mm wide and 1.72 mm thick. The buckle weighs 5.4 grams.

Many examples of this style of buckle (an oval frame, with an ornate outside edge) were recovered from the excavations along the London waterfront. The stratigraphy suggests that this particular buckle fashion was a long lived one, from the late 12th Centuries to the late 14th Centuries AD (Egan, 1991, p.76). As such there are several published parallels to this particular find, including #298 (Egan, 1991, p.73); #96 (Whitehead, 2003, p.22) and #549 (Egan, 2007, p90).

References:
Egan, G. 1991 Buckles in Egan & Pritchard, 1991, pp.50-123

Egan, G. and Pritchard, F. 1991. Dress Accessories. Medieval Finds from Excavations in London: 3. The Stationary office/ Museum of London.

Egan, G. 2007 Later medieval non-ferrous metalwork and evidence for metal working: AD 1050-1100 to 1500-50. In Griffiths, Philpott and Egan. 2007. pp77-187.

Griffiths, D. Philpott, R. and Egan, G. 2007. Meols: The Archaeology of the North Wirral Coast. Discoveries and observations in the 19th and 20th Centuries with a catalogue of collections. Oxford University School of Archaeology: Monograph 68. Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford.

Whitehead, R. 2003 Buckles 1250-1800 Greenlight Publishing.