STIRRUP

Probable Early Medieval (11th century) stirrup fragment or stirrup mount: The copper alloy fragment is sub-triangular in plan with the lower portion being trapezoidal. The upper portion is narrowed and is sub-rectangular terminating with a broken edge, but the break is not recent. The outer face at the upper edge of the trapezoidal body has a sub inverted high-relief drop shape with a horizontal collar above.

On the reverse there is a right-angled flange just above the lower edge which has one circular perforation and a probable second incomplete perforation. There is a wide, vertical groove starting above the flange.

In profile the outer edge is convex and the inside edge is concave.

The artefact measures 38.48mm long, 26.93mm wide, and 22.66mm thick across the flange and drop protrusion. It weighs 24.26g.

The surface of the terminal is abraded and has a matte mid green colour with a reddish patch of red copper corrosion.

The artefact is possibly a fragment of stirrup or stirrup mount which is probably an Anglo-Scandinavian dating to the 11th century based on style and surface condition. A copper alloy example of a stirrup with similar decoration cannot be found, but examples in iron from Britain have been recorded, for example in Seaby and Woodfield (1980), Figure 5, Nos. 10-13. The other option is it is a stirrup mount, but there are no similar examples illustrated in Williams (1997).

Seaby, W. and Woodfield, P. 1980 'Viking Stirrups from England and their Background' Medieval Archaeology Vol. 24 pp. 87-122.

Williams, D. 1997 Late Saxon Stirrup Mounts: A Classification and Catalogue York: CBA Research Report 111