MOUNT

An incomplete, copper alloy, Anglo-Scandinavian zoomorphic mount of Early Medieval date, about AD 1000 - 1100. It is in the form of the head of a dog or wolf, seen from above. There is a blunt snout with a shallow, transverse groove on the front edge, representing the mouth and two large, circular perforations for eyes. The upper part of the skull is domed, with a number of random shallow grooves for decoration and a single circular groove surrounding a slight hemispherical protrusion above each eye (eyebrows?). Rounded projections to the side at the back of the head may be ears. In the centre of the skull is a small, circular perforation, probably for a fixing rivet. The rivet is no longer present. The underside of the mount is concave and the upper edge is slightly abraded, suggesting that it may be incomplete or damaged after deposition in the soil. Both ends are patinated and worn breaks. The mount is 27.8mm long, 17.7mm wide and 6.5mm thick. It weighs 7.55gm.

Very similar mounts can be found on the database. Compare records SWYOR-DD74CC, LIN-134BEA, CAM-F9D186, WMID-43A0D5 and WMID-C6E687. ​

These records suggest that this artefact is likely to date to the 11th century and is very similar in style of decoration to a number of objects illustrated by Williams (1997, Finds Research Datasheet 24) page 3, figure 4.

WMID-C6E687 goes on to note that the artefact "shares a common basic form with the Urnes style mount identified by Leahy in "The Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Lindsey" (2007, figure 75, number 7). The mount recorded here is likely to be 11th century in date (Kevin Leahy, pers. comm.)."