BUCKLE

An incomplete copper-alloy buckle plate from a Medieval buckle. This plate has zoomorphic decoration, possibly a wyvern, and was originally enamelled, traces of which survive.

Only the front half of the plate survives with two rivets insitu. through the plate. The weight of these remains is 4.99g. The plate was orginally a flat rectangle of 1.5mm thickness, 17.8mm width and 30.7mm length. The presence of the remains of a bifid notch increase the length to 35.9mm. The plate has been bent and slightly twisted. The reverse plate has broken off across the bifid notch loops. The notch has a width of 4.1mm and the broken worn tabs, which once formed recurving loop between both plates, a width of 4.0mm.

At the centre of the plate is a mythical beast left. This beast, seen in profile, has a long wing tucked neatly against its body that extends along the length of its body, tapering to an acute pointed tip. A bird-like leg projects below the beast's body from below the front edge of the wing. The neck bends backwards from the curved breast and the head tips upwards. The head is not well defined but may have a very short beak. From behind the lower end of the wing a fish like tail can be seen to rise up, recurving over the beast's back. This tail ends with a leaf-shaped terminal the tip of which is 1.5mm behind the back of the head. The surface of this beast is on the same plane as the plate's edge which forms a border 2.0mm around the plate. The field within this border that surrounds the beast is recessed from the plane of the border and beast. The recessed field is filled with white enamel creating a white back ground. The enamel is missing from some areas and these patches reveal that the surface below the enamel is keyed with criss-cross lines.

The reverse surface is undecorated and would have been hidden from view by the reverse plate and strap sandwiched between the two plates.

A rivet is present in the two corners furthest away from the bifid notch. The rivet heads have convex domes and a diameter of 3.2mm. The rivets have a length, from top of rivet head, of 5.9mm and the shafts have a diameter of 1.9mm.

Egan, G. and Pritchard, F., 2002. Dress Accessories, c.1150-c.1450 (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London) (2002). London : HMSO,