BUCKLE

A complete copper alloy buckle, probably from a spur, dating perhaps to the 11th to 13th centuries AD.

The buckle has a triangular or trapezoidal frame, D-shaped in cross-section with a flat reverse. There is a projecting pin rest in the centre of the straight outside edge. The pin hole is set in a rounded lobe which projects into the interior of the frame at the apex of the triangle. The inner edges of the frame appear to have been bevelled.

The pin is triangular in plan and rectangular in cross-section, made from one piece of copper alloy which has been folded round the hole to make a loop. It is corroded but complete.

There is an oval integral plate, D-shaped in cross-section with a flat reverse. It has a perforation in the centre for a separate copper alloy rivet which is still present. The end of the oval is irregular and the plate may be broken and incomplete.

The buckle measures 21.1 mm in length and is 20.8 mm wide at the frame and 7.1 mm wide at the integral plate. The plate measures 3.3 m thick and the frame has a thickness of 2.1 mm. The pin is approximately 9.2 mm in length and is 1.8 mm wide. It has a thickness of 1.1 mm. The buckle weighs 1.9 g. The buckle is a mid to dark brown in colour with an even patina and a worn surface.

It bears similarities to buckles recorded in Whitehead (2003, 34, nos 193 and 194) which are there dated to 1250-1400. It also shares similarities with some small iron buckles from Winchester (Goodall in Biddle 1990, 526, 532-3, nos. 1317-21) which are from contexts dating to the late 11th to 13th centuries. Others recorded on the database with a projecting lobe for the pin hole include SUR-FFC784, BH-AFE45B and GLO-927993. More distant parallels have dates into the 13th century, including, LVPL-F2B82E and SUSS-3F54B8.