STRAP END

An incomplete Early Medieval (Anglo Saxon) copper-alloy zoomorphic strap end dating to AD 750-1100. This is a Thomas Class A type 2h strap end with a split-ended plate pierced by two rivet holes (both rivets now missing). The strap end has central panel decorated with lattice work design. The body of the strap end gradually tapers down to a stylized zoomorphic terminal.

Dimensions: length: 43.30mm; width: 10.37mm; thickness: 1.63mm; weight: 3.31g.

Thomas (2000:91-92) writes "A popular sub-type with fifty-one representatives is characterised by the use of a central field occupied by closely spaced diagonal lines which bisect one another to form a lattice. In some cases, the design is inlaid with enamel or silver. In a few examples, the lattice could represent 'keying' for the addition of an inlaid setting (Evison 1980, 34), but if this were the case then the lattice would have been applied to a recessed surface, yet most are applied directly on to the surface of the metal. The terminal and split-end features associated with this sub-type are usually highly stylised, often using punched arcs to represent individual attributes such as ears. Some examples of the sub-type, such as that from Fishergate, York (cat. no. 713, Fig. 3.15E) have a characteristic form consisting of a lentoid-shaped central panel and expanded split-end.

In most cases, the field of lattice-work is framed within an incised border; less frequently however, it is contained within a border of conjoined arcs, such as those used on strap-ends from Hod Hill, Dorset (cat. no. 666), or of billeting, as in the case of a strap-end from Ramsbury, Wilts (cat. no. 707)."

References: Thomas, G. 2003. Late Anglo-Saxon and Viking-Age strap-ends 750-1100: Part 1. The Finds Research Group Datasheet 32.

Thomas, G. 2000. A Survey of Late Anglo-Saxon and Viking-Age Strap-Ends from Britain.