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BOOK FITTING
Unique ID: NMS-91A927
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
Blackened and burnt medieval gilded copper alloy book clasp, of characteristic late 14th- or early 15th-century design, of box-like construction. The part that contained the strap (the hollow plate) is pierced by twin rivet-holes, both with copper alloy rivet and with folded sides. The worn face is inscribed with ihc (a variant of IHS, the first three letters of the name Jesus in Greek) reserved on a rectangular field of rocker arm. The front plate is then butted against a box-like diamond-set element cast in the form of an elaborate quatrefoil in high relief forming a lozengiform boss. The lower faces of the diamond-shape lie between the elongated ears of a stylised animal-head terminal cast in relief, with open loop forming a terminal loop. The separate back-plate is perforated by the rivet-holes and by a larger oval perforation on the reverse of the diamond box.
Book-clasps use these holes to clip over a projecting peg on the body of the book. Length 78mm. Width 29.5mm. Height of diamond-set 'box' 7mm. See examples from Aylsham (56202), Bunwell (HER 10007), Morley (NMS-FD27A2), Narborough/Narford (HER 32309), Thurne (HER 51775) and Witton (HER 51189).
Class:
clasp
Sub class: Howsam type A.9.2
Inscription:
ihc
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1300
Date to: Circa AD 1400
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 78 mm
Width: 29.5 mm
Thickness: 7 mm
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 10th June 2014 - Wednesday 10th September 2014
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
SMR reference number: 60172
Other reference: AMD092014
Materials and construction
Spatial metadata
County or Unitary authority: Norfolk (County)
District: Broadland (District)
Parish or ward: Hevingham (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: TG1922
Four figure Latitude: 52.75121259
Four figure longitude: 1.24358814
1:25K map: TG1922
1:10K map: TG12SE
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 10 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howsam, C.L. | 2016 | Book Fastenings and Furnishings: An archaeology of late Medieval books | Sheffield | Unpulished PhD Thesis |
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Timeline of associated dates
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