BUCKLE

A medieval (1350-1400) copper alloy buckle frame of Egan's 'rectangular Meols Type C' with sheet copper alloy plate, incomplete in so far as it is missing its pin.
The frame has concave sides with a ridge near each corner and a wide outside edge with three transverse grooves at the centre and a bevelled underside. The bar is offset and narrowed for the plate (and missing pin).
The sheet plate (0.4mm thick) curves around the bar and is narrowed at the outer corners for rotational purposes. It has a central rectangular slot for the pin with a convex short edge. The plate narrows from 10.4mm wide behind the axis bar to 8.1mm at the opposite end. The narrower end has an in situ central metal rivet, dark grey in colour and probably copper alloy (given the lack of corrosion around it). The front plate has a panel of worn probable decoration flanking the open end and across the rivet hole, two opposed lines of triangular punches.
The frame is of a different, darker brown copper alloy than the mid-green copper alloy plate.
The buckle frame measures 13.7mm by 13.9mm (internal 8.7x11.2mm) and the plate measures 23.4mm in length, 10.4mm in max.width and 4.2mm in max.thickness at the rivet. Altogether the object measures 33.8mm in length, 13.9mm in max.width and 4.2mm in max.thickness. It weighs 2.50g.
Similar buckles with plates illustrated in Egan & Pritchard (1991), p.96, fig.61, no. 434 to 438 were found in a context dated c. 1350 - 1400.