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STRAP FITTING
Unique ID: SWYOR-71145A
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation 
One half of a Medieval copper-alloy swivel dating from AD 1066 - 1500. The piece would originally have been comprised of two linked, D-shaped frames. The surviving half is one of these loops. It is of D-shaped section, flaring at either end, terminating in a pair of inward-facing, devolved zoomorphic heads. Each beast holds in its jaws one side of the flat, lozenge shaped plate containing a circular aperture, into which the spigot of the opposing side of the swivel would have fitted. Part of the iron joining rivet survives in situ. The object is 25.4mm long, 25.8mm wide and 12.8mm thick. 10.81g.
There are many examples of this sort of swivel fitting on the PAS database. Despite the Romanesque appearance of the zoomorphic heads, Helen Geake (2001: 72) believes that swivels of this form were probably in use throughout most of the Medieval period.
Compare Griffiths, Philpott and Egan (2007, Meols: The Archaeology of the North Wirral Coast) pl. 35, Nos. 2324/5 for a complete example of slightly different design.
IOW-E258EB cites Ashley (2006. Recent finds of Anglo-Norman 'High Status' Objects from Norfolk. Norfolk Archaeology, page 105) and notes that "Swivels are likely to have had a number of related uses: for example, on the leashes of hunting dogs or lapdogs, with the smaller examples perhaps being used on straps for raptors when hawking"
Class: Swivel
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
Period from: MEDIEVAL
Period to: MEDIEVAL
Date from: Circa AD 1066
Date to: Circa AD 1500
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 25.4 mm
Width: 25.8 mm
Thickness: 12.8 mm
Weight: 10.81 g
Discovery dates
Date(s) of discovery: Thursday 1st September 2016 - Saturday 31st December 2016
Personal details
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Other reference numbers
Other reference: PAS form number 3007
Materials and construction
Primary material: Copper alloy
Secondary material: Iron
Completeness: Incomplete
Spatial metadata
Region: Yorkshire and the Humber (European Region)County or Unitary authority: Wakefield (Metropolitan District)
District: Wakefield (Metropolitan District)
Parish or ward: Ackworth (Civil Parish)
Spatial coordinates
4 Figure: SE4318
Four figure Latitude: 53.65673276
Four figure longitude: -1.35083921
1:25K map: SE4318
1:10K map: SE41NW
Grid reference source: Centred on field
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
References cited
| Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Griffiths, D., Philpott. R. and Egan, G. | 2007 | Meols: The Archaeology of the North West Wirral Coast | Oxford | Oxford University School of Archaeology | 2324 |
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Timeline of associated dates
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