NMS-E39636: KNIFE
Iron strip, perhaps the blade from a knife. It is 120mm long and one end is encased in delaminating corrosion. Away from this end, it is generally around 19mm wide, with one edge straight and 3mm thick, tapering to the other edge which may represent the cutting edge. The end without the corrosion layers has the cutting edge curving up to meet the back of the blade in a rounded point. The corroded end is broken and has no evidence of a whittle tang. The strip is now bent at a slight angle about halfway along its length. It weighs 45.0g. The identification as a knife is very tentative, as the strip is corroded, very thin and has no evidence of a tang, but as it was found close to several early Anglo-Saxon objects it could also be of that date.
Stable URI: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1160378

NMS-E36935: RING
Neatly circular iron ring, 51.5mm in diameter. In cross-section it is circular, 8mm in diameter. It weighs 31.8g. The ring was found close to several early Anglo-Saxon objects and is likely also to be of that date. It may have been used as a suspension ring.
Stable URI: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1160372

NMS-E3383A: HARNESS FITTING
Fragment of late Iron Age copper-alloy D-shaped terret, now very corroded but perhaps originally enamelled. It has a sub-circular or slightly oval upright collar terminal 13.7mm wide, 12.1mm tall and 4.8mm thick. From one side of this projects a triangular-section upper ring, with a flat inner and an angled outer. On the other side of the collar, at its base, is a stub of the attachment bar which shows that this was rectangular-section, 6.5 x 3.4mm, and set vertically. The overall length is 21.0mm and it weighs 7.34g. All surfaces of the fragment, including the breaks, are worn and corroded. Both faces of the angled outer seem to have depressions filled with dark red corrosion, and these could be a row of small square or circular champlevé cells for enamel. There are amorphous corrosion bubbles on the collar which are similarly filled with this dark red material, however, and it is likely that this is the red copper corrosion that is often seen on enamelled objects, rather than the remains of enamel itself. Although this is just a fragment, it probably belongs to Lewis's 'simple terret' group. Lewis suggests that this is a long-lived form, dating from the third century BC to at least the second half of the first century AD (2015, 87).
Stable URI: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/1160367

NMS-D2C402: BROOCH
About half of the flat circular frame of an early Anglo-Saxon copper-alloy annular brooch, with an original diameter of c. 40mm. One break is across a neat rounded hole in the frame. This may be the pin hole, but on the reverse there is solder around the hole and it may possibly alternatively be a repair. There is also some iron corrosion on the reverse here, which could be from the pin. The frame is otherwise well preserved here, and at 6.1mm wide appears to retain its original width. The inner edge is 1.2mm thick and it tapers towards the outer edge which is 0.6mm thick. The other break is jagged and appears fresh. Here the frame is narrower and more corroded, and some of the thin outer edge has been lost. The front is decorated with geometric grooved decoration. Two pairs of transverse lines survive, about a quarter of the full circle apart. Between them are four oblique lines forming two V shapes with the points outwards. The rest of the decoration is obscured by corrosion and loss of surface. The reverse is undecorated, with a glossy patina. It is more undulating than the flat front of the brooch, with a slight depression running along its centre. It weighs 1.52g. A glossy surface, an uneven reverse suggesting hammering, and a triangular or wedge-shaped cross-section, thickest in the centre, are all frequent features of early Anglo-Saxon annular brooches and help to distinguish them from later examples. This one falls into Leeds's type g, and dates to the 5th or 6th century AD.

NMS-D16462: BROOCH
Fragment of copper alloy, probably a small piece of foot from an early Anglo-Saxon cruciform brooch. The fragment is C-shaped in cross-section, hollow on the reverse, and is broken at both ends (one break fairly fresh and granular, the other more worn). At one end, the front has a bold moulding, 4-5mm deep and flat-topped, which is divided into two by an off-centre transverse groove. The overall surviving length is 21.1mm, maximum width 12.8mm and maximum thickness (at moulding) 6.0mm. It weighs 4.93g. It seems likely that this is one of the mouldings at the top of a horse's head terminal from a cruciform brooch, divided into two to mirror the two eyes that will be below. No other part of the horse's head survives, and it is tricky to tell which way up the fragment should go. It is perhaps most likely to be correct when held with the moulding at the top, with a long forehead below, broken just above the eyes; if held the other way up, it should not have a concave reverse. Compare complete brooch feet with bifurcated brows such as NLM-4C6FE9. Probably late 5th to late 6th century.

NMS-D0E282: BROOCH
Head and bow from an early Anglo-Saxon copper-alloy small-long brooch. The flat, apparently undecorated headplate has a sub-rectangular central panel with three flat 'knobs', all of which appear to have been mushroom-shaped, or D-shaped above narrowed waists. This shape of headplate is often known as 'trefoil'. On the reverse of the headplate is a broken pin bar lug (worn breaks) with iron staining around it. All the edges of the headplate are worn. The bow is D-shaped in cross-section, quite highly arched and simple, with a groove across the top the only visible decoration. It tapers slightly towards the base, where the break is fresh and granular. Surviving length 32.0mm, width of headplate 24.3mm, weight 4.61g. Small-long brooches date to the century c. 450-c. 550 AD.

NMS-D0BB0C: BROOCH
Head and bow from an early Anglo-Saxon copper-alloy small-long brooch. The flat headplate is very worn and its original shape is uncertain, but it has the remains of deep U-shaped cut-outs in both its lower edge and its upper corners, forming three knobs. These may have had straight ends, as the top and one side knob each retain a straight row of crescentic stamps along their edges. On the reverse of the headplate is a large double pin bar lug, one lug incomplete and the other retaining part of an iron pin bar. There is extensive iron corrosion between the two lugs. The bow is low, with a flat panel with a faint transverse groove at the top; below this it is D-shaped in cross-section to the worn break. Surviving length 31.5mm, surviving width 23.5mm, thickness of head including lug 9.8mm. Weight 8.58g. Small-long brooches date to the century c. 450-c. 550 AD.

NMS-D07466: BROOCH
Complete early Anglo-Saxon copper-alloy small-long brooch, now in two joining parts. The head is of the 'cross potent' type, with a flat rectangular central panel c. 13 x 18mm. This has three sub-rectangular flat 'knobs' attached by narrower waists, to form a headplate in total 32.2mm wide. The surface is corroded and some is missing, but traces of double-crescent or half ring-and-dot stamps can be seen; there is a row of five on the top knob and a similar row on one side knob, each with a trace of a single groove outside the row of stamps. On the reverse of the headplate is a single pin bar lug, now blocked with iron corrosion. The bow has a flat panel to top and bottom, both with a facet or bevel to either side making them more irregular hexagons in cross-section than the normal rectangles. The upper is larger than the lower, and the C-section bow tapers from one to the other. The foot begins with a flat panel with bevelled edges, which ends with a double transverse groove; then comes a more strongly bevelled or faceted area. On the reverse of this part is a large and near-complete catchplate, bent to the left (when viewed from the reverse). The junction of the flat panel and the terminal is a D-section area with a broad groove across the middle dividing it into two bold D-section mouldings. Below this the terminal is broken off, but still joins; this flares out to a straight-sided triangle with a curved end. Both straight sides are decorated on one face with a row of the same double-crescent or half ring-and-dot stamps, but the curved end appears to lack these. The break is fresh and granular. Total length c. 70mm, total weight 14.58g. Small-long brooches date to the century c. 450-c. 550 AD.

NMS-D012DB: GIRDLE HANGER
Fragment of early Anglo-Saxon copper-alloy girdle-hanger. Using Felder's terminology (2014, 35, fig. 3.1), the fragment consists of the suspension loop, shank neck and part of shank, with a granular, unworn break. The suspension loop is a narrow, rounded lobe at the top, pierced from side to side, but the perforation is now blocked with iron corrosion. The shank neck is a D-section area below the suspension loop, divided into five rounded lobes; its junction with the shank is marked with a transverse ridge. The shank itself is rectangular-section and flares very slightly towards the break. Although it has some fine longitudinal striations on the front, does not appear to be decorated in any way. Length 67.2mm, maximum width (at break) 6.9mm, maximum thickness (at suspension loop) 7.2mm, thickness of shank at break 2.7mm, weight 8.83g. The shank neck falls into Felder's Group III, either Type IIIa or IIIb (2014, 87, fig. 3.35; 91-94). Felder dates the use of girdle-hangers in early Anglo-Saxon female graves to the late 5th to mid 6th century (2014, 255).

NMS-CF59E4: SLEEVE CLASP
Chunky copper-alloy bar from an early Anglo-Saxon wrist-clasp, apparently of Hines Form B10 or possibly alternatively B4. The bar is cast in one piece, with three cuboidal elements, one in the centre and one at either end. These are linked by D-section areas, each one decorated with two broad U-section transverse grooves or flutes, alternating with three ridges each flanked by narrow grooves. Each of the cuboidal bosses has a substantial white-metal coating, probably of tin. On the flat reverse there are two broken pierced lugs, set transversely and pierced longitudinally. Length 40.3mm, width 5.1mm, thickness including loops 10.9mm, thickness of bar alone (in centre) 5.5mm, weight 7.25g. This is an unusual object. Form B10 clasps, which consist like this of a bar only, attached to the garment by loops secured by a removable pin, are not common; Hines noted only one (1991, 45). The related form B4, which has a separate plate between sleeve and bar, is also rare; Hines noted only three possible examples (1991, 37-8). As the plates (where they survived) were made from iron, it is possible that any plate might have disappeared from this example. Loops for a pin are also found on several clasp-halves which would otherwise have been classed as B19 (e.g. NMS-5196E4) or B20 (e.g. YORYM-9DD301 and DENO-8428D0) and it is possible that this feature should not in itself be used as a defining attribute.

NMS-CE5E22: SLEEVE CLASP
Early Anglo-Saxon copper-alloy wrist-clasp of Hines's Form B20, in very good condition. It is largely flat, and cast in one piece, with a raised, flat-topped bar, a plate with shaped rear edge, and a complete loop. The bar is c. 6mm wide and has two zones of transverse groove decoration, not perfectly evenly spaced along its length; both consist of a wider U-section groove flanked by two similar slightly narrower grooves. The rear edge of the bar has a longitudinal step intermediate in height between the bar and the rest of the plate. The rear edge of the plate is flatter and neatly shaped, with a central outcurved semi-circular lobe separated by V-section notches from flanking quarter-circle shapes, each pierced with a circular sewing hole. The plate's ends each have a lower curved lobe, so that the overall effect is of an outward-looking animal head, or perhaps a wave shape. The loop is rectangular externally and oval internally. It is flatter than the bar, and droops downwards a little from it, so that when linked to the other clasp-half it would be hidden. Length 34.5mm, width of plate 14.1mm, width including loop 18.1mm, maximum thickness (centre of bar) 2.9mm, weight 6.31g. This is a good example of a fairly common B20 clasp, which HInes calls the 'Morningthorpe type' (1993, 64-5).. Compare SF-91FF24, NMS-7FFFB6, SF-7B9E9B, NMS-E8ED05, etc. They date to the late 5th or 6th centuries AD.

NMS-5767C8: COIN
Medieval silver coin of Henry I, Quatrefoil with piles type, moneyer Wulfrard of Sandwich, North 863, weight 1.36g, c.1111

NMS-FDD7E8: FINGER RING
Gold mourning ring dated 23 September 1805. The ring has a wide hoop, of even width throughout but now crumpled in one place. It is decorated on the exterior with a beaded ridge to top and bottom, two plain ridges within this, and a central band of relief lettering reading ELIZ: SHERMAN. DIED. 23. SEP: 1805. AGED. 81 The stops vary, sometimes colons but mostly central pellets. There is a space-filling motif, probably a rosette or flower, between the start and end of the inscription. Although the lettering is very neat, the workmanship is untidy, with lots of engraving scratches left rough; these may be keying for enamel that has now entirely disappeared. The interior has four hallmarks in a longitudinal line approximately behind the letters ELIZ. From left to right they are: a maker's mark (SG (or possibly SC) in a rectangular cartouche); a very worn stamp which appears to be a bust within a rounded cartouche, placed sideways; a lion passant within a polygonal cartouche; and a date letter, now slightly damaged but apparently a capital K. The London assay office's date letter for 1805 was a capital K, but the other marks do not appear to conform to this office's standard. Weight 3.25g, diameter c. 20mm, width of hoop perhaps c. 7mm.

NMS-9AC40C: CUFF LINK
Description: 17th-century silver cufflink element decorated with crowned hearts, together with the oval wire loop that originally joined it to the other element. It is circular, originally with a flat centre and a shallow downturned rim with an out-turned edge. The rim is now bent and cracked. The flat area has a recessed centre enclosed within a raised edge. The centre has a stippled background, a pair of counter-relief heart shapes, one next to the other, and a crown over both. The crown is neatly made, with a wide lower band decorated with four dots, a flaring central element with a transverse groove below a grooved saltire at the top, and a pair of arches with serrated tops each enclosing a motif with rectangular base and roundel top. The reverse has the design visible, showing that a stamping technique was used. In the centre is a D-shaped loop made from circular-section silver wire, and through this runs the oval loop, made from a length of similar wire with the ends close to each other at one end of the loop. Dimensions: Maximum diamter 14.4mm, diameter of flat top 11.6mm, overall thickness 2.5mm, diameter of wire 1.3-1.5mm, length of oval loop 14.9mm, weight 1.24g. Discussion: This cufflink element is of Lewis's form 1, type A. They are common finds, although the style of the crown varies and they appear to have been individually made. The crowned hearts motif is often thought to have celebrated the marriage of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza in 1662, but it was probably longer-lived than this. It certainly seems to have had royalist or Catholic connotations, and may also have been used as a symbol for marriage (Lewis 2013, 4-5). Date: Lewis (2013, 4-5) argues that these cufflinks are likely to date to the 17th century, but may have continued in use as late as the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714). They were probably most popular from c. 1660 to c. 1700.

NMS-99877A: BROOCH
Description: Medieval silver annular brooch, complete with silver pin. The frame of the brooch is circular, thick and flat to make a rectangular cross-section. The pin is held in a constriction, and has an open loop. There is a transverse double moulding at the junction of loop and shaft, below which the cross-section of the shaft is D-shaped or trapezoidal. The frame is engraved on both faces with letters which read clockwise from the pin constriction. Because the pin has a clear front and reverse, it is possible to identify the front and reverse of the frame too; the front reads + IE * SVS in well-made Lombardic capitals. The reverse reads N X I : V : with the X having one vertical stroke, and here the engraving is shallower and the lettering less careful. The front is clearly meant as Jesus, but the reverse inscription is perhaps more likely to be magical than literate. Dimensions: External diameter 24.0 to 24.4mm, width of frame 4.5mm, thickness of frame 2.0mm, length of pin 24.8mm, weight 5.97g. Discussion: Annular brooches with religious inscriptions are a well-known type, and they often have inscriptions including the name of Jesus. Compare NCL-D1AF46 and WILT-F0A3A1 (with wholly literate inscriptions) and DUR-17DE65 (with lettering only on one face). The inscriptions are felt to be apotropaic (protective against bad luck or evil influence; Egan and Pritchard 1991, 255). Date: A silver example with similar lettering was found in a context of c. 1350-1400 in London (Egan and Pritchard 1991, no. 1337). On the whole, they are usually given a date-range of 13th to 14th century.

NMS-EFEE71: BOOK FITTING
Description: Small flat silver book-clasp of post-medieval date. It is neatly made from thick silver sheet, rounded at both ends and with a concave waist in between. A flat turned-under hook has been broken at one end, which has shoulders curving down into the waist. There is a tiny pointed angle between the waist and the other rounded end, which is oval, slightly larger, and set transversely. This end has a hole, neatly lozengiform on the front and circular on the reverse, presumably for attachment to a strap. The hole is now filled with greenish corrosion on the front and has iron corrosion on the reverse. There is no decoration, but one face is more smoothly polished than the other. Both faces have damage consisting of oblique scratches. The break appears fresh. Dimensions: Surviving length 22.8mm. Maximum width (at oval end) 11.9mm. Thickness of sheet 0.9 to 1.0mm. The scar from the broken-off hook is c. 4.5mm wide. Weight 1.47g. Discussion: While no exact parallel has been found, there are several reasonably similar book-clasp elements that this object can be compared with. Simple, undecorated or minimally decorated silver sheet catch-pieces or anchor-plates include NMS-DBBFF4, WMID-BCCFC6, SF-EA30F1 and NMS-551569. Hook-pieces seem to be identified less often, perhaps because the loss of the fragile hook makes them difficult to recognise, but there are a few, including perhaps DUR-F4B4ED. A larger sheet hook-piece, of different shape (SUR-6553D3), is conveniently inscribed with the date 1694, which gives us a reliable late 17th-century date for this type at least. How late book-clasps like this continued in use is at present uncertain; they may have continued to be produced in small numbers for some time. Date: Post-medieval, probably 17th or early 18th century.

NMS-5DCF04: NEEDLE
Description: Complete post-medieval silver needle or bodkin with one pointed end and one pierced end. It has a circular cross-section for most of its length, and then flattens and widens at the top to a round-cornered rectangle through which a hole has been made. The top of the hole is rounded, mirroring the top of the needle, but the lower end of the hole tapers to a point. The needle is decorated with two sets of double grooves around the entire circumference, one near the pointed tip and one about halfway up the shaft. Just below the hole, where the shaft begins to flatten, is another zone of decoration consisting of a double groove above and below with a double saltire in between. The decoration here is carelessly made and the lines on one face often do not meet the lines on another. The needle is now slightly bent and the hole has been a little squashed. The tip is pointed, but not as sharp as would be needed to pierce tightly woven material. Dimensions; Length c. 55mm, maximum diameter of shaft 2.6mm, width at top 3.0mm, thickness at top 1.6mm, hole c. 7.5mm long. Weight 2.30g. Discussion: It is difficult to find an exact parallel to this object, and the function remains uncertain. The decoration recalls that on 17th-century bodkins (e.g. SF-FFCFC6 and NLM-C9108C) but the size and shape are rather different. Circular-sectioned needle-like objects of similar proportions, with expanded, decorated ends, are recorded at SF-30CF91, NMS-AE0D46 and NMS-A481F1, but the blunted ends seem designed for a specific use, and this one has a pointed end instead. There are undecorated needles with similar proportions recorded at LON-44BA4F, IOW-F94A5A and SWYOR-534E70, but shorter examples with rounded eyes (such as HAMP-57FE56 and WILT-F492B5) are now considered to be lace-tags (see details in the BM catalogue record of WILT-F492B5, now acquired as 2010,0821.1). One of these short, round-eyed lace-tags (SUR-CEBD09) has decoration of two pairs of circumferential grooves. While the long eye at the top and the pointed tip may imply use for sewing, the decoration along the shaft is unhelpful, and it may have been used more as a lacing tool. Date: The parallels have all been given dates in the 16th or 17th centuries, and this also seems appropriate for this example.

NMS-6858CD: DRESS FASTENER (DRESS)
Description: Incomplete silver mount or dress fastener. One half (the lower half) is flat and undecorated with a curving lower edge. The other half has decoration of two high-relief C-shaped scrolls with their backs towards the flat half and their points upwards The point of one scroll has been lost, but the surviving scroll is open at the top, and appears to be in the shape of a flat ribbon which is wound up at either end, and the inner end bound to the inner end of the other scroll. Between the two scrolls, and partly within both halves, is a sub-oval or drop-shaped central perforation with the point upwards. Curving ridges on the flat reverse show that the object was cast in a mould made from cuttlefish bone. The reverse originally had two integral circular-section rivets, one to either side of the central hole. The surviving rivet is at the base of the complete surviving scroll, but the other rivet has been torn away, causing a bend to the metal. Dimensions: Surviving width c. 19mm, length 15mm. Thickness of flat half c. 1.2mm, thickness of high-relief half away from rivet 3.5mm, thickness including rivet 5mm. The central hole measures 5.3 x 4.0mm and the object weighs 2.59g. Discussion: This object fits well into a group of small mounts which are thought to be dress fasteners of eyelet type, although no corresponding hook has ever been identified. Most are a little larger than this one, although all are small; most have the same cuttlefish marks on the reverse. All have holes and integral rivets, and most have two distinct halves with different decoration and often different thicknesses. Most appear to be individually designed, with NMS-E02E1C and WMID-7B3FCA having some similar elements to this one. Other good examples include NMGW-E31CD0, SWYOR-191BF9, LANCUM-8C13DC and SUR-70A2EF. Egan and Pritchard discuss what may be analogous flimsy copper-alloy items found in late 14th-century contexts (1991, nos. 1199-1201), comparing them to a rather closer (but still copper-alloy) parallel found in the River Thames (fig. 141). One of Egan and Pritchard’s examples was found in place on an unperforated strap. Date: Despite the parallel from a late 14th-century context, these items tend to fit better into 16th-century fashions and despite their small numbers they may have been used over a long period of time, c. 1350-c. 1550 at least.

NMS-D5565B: TORC
Description: Piece of gold rod, probably a small fragment of a flange-twisted or bar-twisted torc with three flanges, now bent into a spiral of two full turns. One end is original, with a rounded tip and neat triangular cross-section. From the rounded tip, the terminal flares slightly for c. 10mm and runs straight, before starting to coil. As it starts to curve, each face becomes concave so that the cross-section is Y-shaped, and the rod is then neatly twisted as well as bent into a coil. After two full turns the rod is apparently cut or broken. It is S-twisted (also called a left-hand twist), and the end of each flange, or arm of the Y, is polished or worn so that it is burred, or smooth and flat. The apparently broken or cut end also has some smoothly bent and worn areas. The fragment has a slightly pale, brownish colour. Dimensions: Overall diameter of coil, c. 11mm. Overall thickness of the coil, 6mm. Maximum diameter of the twisted rod, 2.4mm. Weight, 2.2g. Discussion: Gold torcs with twisted square or (more rarely) triangular cross-sections were popular in the Penard phase of the Middle Bronze Age, c. 1400-1100BC. The simplest form is the bar-twisted torc, where the rod is left with a square or triangular cross-section. When the corners of the square or triangle are extended into flanges, to produce a cross-shaped or Y-shaped cross-section, it is known as a flange-twisted torc; this example is perhaps on the border of both types. Fragments of square bar-twisted or four-flanged torcs bent into small loops are recorded on the PAS database at GLO-2AF0AE and SOM-AA390A, and another (probably with four flanges) was found in 1961 in the Sporle hoard (Eogan 1967, 173, pl. 22.3). They vary in their gold content, some being fairly pure and others (e.g. ESS-D1D1E9) being only c. 75% gold. This object has some unusual features. Firstly, triangular bar-twisted torcs or three-flanged torcs are much less common than four-flanged examples, although a comparable three-flanged fragment is recorded at BUC-EF04B8. Secondly, torcs normally have terminals which flare outwards towards their ends, rather than taper as this one does. The terminal on this example is unusual, but can be compared with the terminals on a small Bronze Age gold twist-effect loop in the British Museum (OA.10875). Thirdly, twisted torcs are, according to Eogan (1967, 131), more often Z-twisted (also called right-hand twist). This example has an S twist, as do the small loops from the Sporle hoard, GLO-2AF0AE, and SOM-AA390A, and the short length of three-flange torc BUC-EF04B8. Date: Middle Bronze Age, 1400-1100 BC.

NMS-09EC59: INGOT
Description: Complete long silver ingot of slightly irregular shape, but with a clear rounded top and slightly flattened underside. It has one neatly rounded end, 11mm wide and 5.8mm thick. One long edge runs roughly at right angles to this end, and the other long edge flares slightly. The maximum width of 13.5mm is close to the other end, and here there is a rounded angle, with the ingot tapering steeply to meet the other long edge in a rounded point. The ingot is sub-triangular or drop-shaped in cross-section, with the long straight edge being thicker and the top then sloping to the the angled edge. The slightly rounded top surface has some narrow scratches that may be testing nicks; the most obvious of these forms a crude cross just off centre towards the narrower end. The rest of the top has small wrinkles and pits, but there is an area of smooth polish at the narrower end. The thinner edge has one possible small knife cut. The thicker edge and the underside have several larger pits, mostly circular but one oval, which all look like casting flaws. Dimensions: Length 53.3mm, maximum width 13.5mm, maximum thickness 6.5mm, weight 29.3g. Discussion and Date: The shape is comparable with ingots which are often described as cigar- or finger-shaped. It bears some similarity to two ingots from a group found near Lichfield (WMID-C36B61, LVPL-E032D7); another from Derbyshire (WMID-9F9B50); and one from near Framlingham (SF-C22644). These vary in weight, and it is difficult to use this as a criterion for dating. Ingots of simple shape are notoriously difficult to date, but the parallels cited have all been tentatively dated to the late early-medieval period (c. 850-c. 1050 AD) on the basis of their long shape, their general appearance, and the occasional presence of testing nicks.

NMS-F720E6: FINGER RING
Description: Gilded silver finger-ring of 'iconographic' type, with clasped hands on the hoop. It is a fairly large ring, with the hoop generally of D-shaped cross-section. The gilding survives very well on both interior and exterior, with just a few areas (mainly around the edges) worn to show the underlying silver. The bezel is roughly triangular in cross-section, and is divided into two longitudinal concave fields with a central ridge. Each field is decorated with a crudely engraved human figure in three-quarter pose looking slightly towards the central ridge. They seem to have been intended as identical, but one is more carefully made than the other. Both have faces with dots for the eyes, nose and mouth, and grooves indicating hair or a head-covering on the back of the head. They have some indication of wrap-over clothing (like a modern dressing gown) and it is possible that other lines show a staff, or perhaps a palm branch (the symbol of St Barbara). These panels have no frames, but as the central ridge continues into the hoop it is decorated with a groove filled with around 14 pellets (the uncertainty is because the top pellet is rather worn on both shoulders). On each shoulder, to either side of this beaded groove, there is a panel of engraved and originally enamelled decoration, making four in all. Each of the four panels has a lozengiform flower above three pairs of pointed-oval leaves. Three of the four flowers have retained dark enamel, perhaps dark blue or black, but no enamel survives in the leaves. There is keying visible in the base of the cells where the enamel has vanished. Below the lowest pair of leaves there is a small undecorated area to either side of the beaded groove. The beading then stops at a transverse moulding, with a broad flute below and then a pair of similar transverse mouldings separated by a groove. This marks the start of the clasped-hands motif and may represent the cuffs of a sleeve. In contrast to the figures on the bezel, the hands are quite carefully made using engraved lines to show one with a thumb and the tips of four fingers, and the other with just four fingers visible. Dimensions: The internal diameter is c. 19mm, the external width is 22mm and the length from the top of bezel to the back of hoop is 23.3mm. The bezel measures c. 12-13mm long x 7.6mm wide, and is 2.8mm thick. The hoop is a minimum of 4mm wide at the cuffs, and then swells to 6.5mm wide at the clasped hands. It weighs 4.9g. Discussion: The clasped-hands or 'mani in fede' (hands in faith) motif is characteristic of love rings, whereas the 'iconographic' bezel (normally showing saints) is characteristic of religious rings (Oman 1974, 38; and 54-6). The combination of the two motifs on a single ring is not common, although the iconographic ring is often combined with oblique ridges that may derive from the clasped-hands motif. The only other examples on the PAS database with fully modelled hands and iconographic bezels appear to be LVPL-CB7086, LVPL-1BBC69, ESS-B0D28A and NMS-BC0467; these are all also of gilded silver (LVPL-CB7086 is described as gold on the record, but appears from the photographs to be gilded silver). Similar enamelled decoration on the shoulders is found on many iconographic rings, including SUSS-B72E0E, KENT-2C2670, SF-0D09B2, etc. Date: The clasped-hands motif was used throughout the medieval period and into the 17th century, but iconographic finger-rings were produced only between the late 14th and early 16th centuries (Oman 1974, 39; 54).

NMS-019E8E: CUFF LINK
Description: Complete post-medieval silver cufflink of Lewis's Form 1, Type A, consisting of two circular elements joined by a loop. The two circular elements are identical, both decorated with a crown above two hearts on a stippled background within a raised rim. Each crown has a wide curved base with four dots along it; there are two arches above, each with jagged tops, alternating with three projecting fleurs. The hearts are side by side below, and are undecorated. All three elements fit the space tightly. The edges of the circular elements have down-turned edges and out-turned rims, now missing small pieces. D-shaped loops on the reverse are made from circular-section wire and soldered on, and are joined by an oval loop made from similar wire. Dimensions: Each circular element is c. 12mm in diameter at the top and c. 14.8mm in diameter at the rim, where the metal is 0.3mm thick. The down-turned rim makes the body of the cufflink c. 2.5mm tall (with the loop, 4.8mm tall). The wire used for the D-shaped and oval loops is 1.2mm in diameter; the oval loop measures 15mm long by 4.5mm wide. It weighs 1.85g. Discussion: These cufflinks are common finds, although the style of the crown varies and they appear to have been individually made. Good parallels on the PAS database include NMS-1B4EBA (2018T58) and NMS-5B90BF (2020T844). The crowned hearts motif is often thought to have celebrated the marriage of Charles II and Catherine of Braganza in 1662, but it was probably longer-lived than this. It certainly seems to have had royalist or Catholic connotations, and may also have been used as a symbol for marriage (Lewis 2013, 4-5). Date: Lewis (2013, 4-5) argues that these cufflinks are likely to date to the 17th century, but may have continued in use as late as the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714). They were probably most popular from c. 1660 to c. 1700.

NMS-301849: FINGER RING
Description: Gold posy ring. The hoop is of even width and D-shaped cross-section throughout, although with some wear. The curved exterior is undecorated, and worn to a matt finish. The flat interior is more glossy, and has the inscription in neat lower-case italic letters: Let vertue be thy guide. At the end of the inscription is a stamped maker's mark reading SL within an oval cartouche; it has been stamped so that it is the right way up when the inscription is upside down. The thicker parts of both letters are double-stranded, and there are two small points on the rear edge of the L. Dimensions: Maximum width as bent, 22.6mm. Width of hoop, 3.8mm. Thickness of hoop, 0.9mm. Weight, 2.4g. Discussion: The text of the inscription is included in Harley MS 6910, a miscellany of Elizabethan poetry compiled between 1596 and 1600 (Evans 1931, p. 69). The British Museum's collection contains a plain ring with a very similar inscription (AF.1322, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_AF-1322) and another with a slightly different version (AF.1320, https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_AF-1320). Both are dated to the 17th century by their makers' marks. The PAS database has several rings with this inscription. One with complex decoration has been dated to the 17th or early 18th century (HAMP-17BF60) and another to the late 17th century (SOM-781886). Simple, plain rings with the same or similar inscriptions include BUC-F183D2, dated to the 17th century; DOR-CA338D, dated to the later 17th to mid 18th century; and CORN-DE5F35 and SUR-B6BBFA, both dated to the early 18th century on the basis of their script. In addition, the maker's mark on BUC-F183D2 has a similar double-strand S. Oman states that italic script began to replace capitals in the second quarter of the 17th century (1974, 40-41). Date: The date-range quoted for similar rings thus covers c. 1600-c. 1750 AD. Given that Oman would prefer a slightly later date, perhaps the century 1650-1750 seems about right for this particular ring.

NMS-2EEA77: PENDANT
Description: Silver pendant, probably of early post-medieval date, with a domed setting of unknown material, perhaps a toadstone. The silver element consists of a sheet backplate, now crumpled and crushed, with an upright wall or collar c. 3mm tall soldered to it; this soldered seam has come apart over much of its length. The collar still retains a domed setting of dull pale grey material with a very slight sheen, which has a hole in the centre filled with silver. Both the setting and the silver have polishing scratches across them. On the reverse, at the top, a suspension loop of thicker metal springs from the backplate. Its base is shaped into two tiny outcurved projections, like a fishtail, and continues with a low convex inner and a more rounded convex outer surface. It curves round to the front, where it is now open and bent sideways. There is a possible blob of solder at the end which may be the original way that the loop was closed, or may represent a repair. The reverse of the object is damaged, but the backplate clearly had a crescent-shaped decorative perforation in the centre, with the horns of the crescent uppermost. Above this, just below the springing of the loop, is a neat seriffed cross (a cross pattée) with perhaps a tiny dot below. To either side of the cross are traces of curvilinear engraving, perhaps the remains of an inscription. Because the silver is grey, and the setting is grey, it is hard to distinguish the elements on the reverse from each other, and it is particularly difficult to see the central silver element on the reverse. The way the damage has occurred appears to show that the setting has a concave reverse, leading to the silver backplate being pushed into a void. Dimensions: Length 20.3mm, width 15.6mm, thickness at centre 5.9mm. The loop measures 6.7mm in diameter (so this is the maximum thickness of the object) and is c. 2.5mm wide. It weighs 3.0g. Discussion: This pendant is likely to be amuletic. Compare NMS-14AEB6, with a large cross on the reverse and set with a similar grey-white setting, thought to be a possible toadstone. Another possible parallel is OXON-1740D1, with a much darker stone, again suggested as a toadstone. If the stone in this pendant does have a concave reverse, it may make it more likely to be a toadstone, since in their raw state toadstones do have concave reverses. They are the fossilised teeth of Scheenstia (also called Lepidotes), an extinct type of fish common in the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods, 200 to 100 million years ago, and were thought to protect against poison. Date: OXON-1740D1 and NMS-14AEB6 are dated to the 13th and 14th-15th centuries respectively, but a similar pendant set with amber (DENO-0239E0) has been given a 17th-century date. Toadstones certainly continued in use into the 17th century, with several being found in the Cheapside jeweller's hoard. The curvilinear, scrolly appearance of the inscription might argue for a post-medieval date for this example.

NMS-1C4C6F: DRESS HOOK
Description: Incomplete post-medieval gilded silver dress hook, probably a hat-hook, with a plate in the shape of an openwork portcullis. Three sides of the central lattice survive, with five vertical bars and four horizontal bars divided by small, roughly square holes.Two of the vertical bars have an expanded, arrowhead-shaped point at one end (the base of the portcullis); there are fairly fresh scars from two missing points and a worn break where the fifth is missing. At the other end of the plate (the top of the portcullis) the outer four vertical bars also end in clear breaks, but the central bar has a smooth end, despite being slightly below the broken-off fragment of hook. This break is fresh, and here the hook is circular in cross-section, but widens and flattens where it is soldered to the plate, blocking its central four holes. It would originally have extended upwards beyond the top of the portcullis. On the front of the plate, there is a low square boss at each intersection of the bars,, and the two surviving points are each decorated with a V-shaped groove. On the reverse the plate is flat, with traces of gilding. Dimensions: Surviving length 12.5mm, width 12.2mm, thickness of plate 1.3mm, maximum thickness (with hook) 3.1mm, weight 1.2g. Discussion: The identification of this object as a hat-hook or hat-badge is slightly uncertain, because of the unusual location and orientation of the hook fragment. Its broken shaft extends upwards towards the top of the portcullis, whereas the hooks on hooked tags always extend downwards, and those on hat-hooks, where their orientation is clear, extend sideways (compare, for example, SF-B4F136, GLO-DAB1D4, DUR-21BFB9, LIN-1D53C6, etc). The portcullis was the heraldic badge of the Beaufort family, and the crowned portcullis became a Tudor royal badge from the time of Henry VII onwards, as his mother was a Beaufort. Despite this, it never seems to have been common as a badge; there are no medieval Beaufort badges on the PAS database, and only one hooked tag known in the shape of a portcullis (SF-33C358, 2006T373). A few other hat-hooks have rose decoration and may also have been royal badges; compare LIN-AFC915. Date: Hat-hooks appear to have been in use during the 16th century.

NMS-77D855: PIN
Description: Gilded silver ball-headed pin of early post-medieval date. The head is spherical and decorated with filigree circles and pellets. There is a twisted wire around the circumference, probably two-ply, with three circles of finer twisted wire above and three below. Each circle has three smaller annulets of similarly fine twisted wire within, with a pellet in the centre between the three annulets. In the triangular spandrels between the larger circles are firstly two larger pellets, one above the other, each tightly surrounded with a ring of twisted wire; and secondly three smaller pellets, one in each corner. In one of the upper spandrels, one corner pellet is missing but there is no scar and the gilding is complete across the area where the missing pellet should be. In one of the lower spandrels one of the larger pellets is missing from its ring, and the other large pellet has lost most of its ring. Where the shaft emerges at the bottom of the pin head there is no collar, but at the top there is a flat ungilded disc collar below an ungilded globular pellet. As the maximum diameter of the pellet here is the same as the diameter of the shaft below, it is possible that the shaft ran right through the pin head, coming out of the top where it was shaped into the flat disc to hold it in place and the decorative pellet above (see the same type of construction on incomplete pins SUSS-60E964 and HAMP-19887E). The circular-section shaft is made of ungilded silver. It turns two right-angled curves which have not caused any stress to the metal; they were probably made soon after manufacture. The shaft is of consistent diameter to begin with, and tapers after the second curve. The tip seems to be missing as the end is blunt, but the break is old and fairly smooth and may have occurred during the pin's use. The workmanship is generally good and the seams in the filigree circles are hard to spot. Dimensions: Total unbent length c. 80mm. Diameter of head 13-14mm. Diameter of shaft, 2.4mm at top. Weight 7.3g. Discussion: This pin is part of a well-known group of gilded silver 16th-century ball-headed pins decorated with groups of three circles, which belong to the same style as many precious-metal hooked tags, hat-hooks etc. The shafts are often ungilded and bent, perhaps to hold them in place in the hair; compare SUSS-911759, 2022T733 and ESS-5C9834, 2011 T875. Good examples of the type include BERK-242E1D (2000T214), ESS-52BEBB (2019T204) and SUSS-D159CB (2022T165). Date: 16th century.

NMS-5E1D57: SEAL MATRIX
Description: Medieval gilded silver seal matrix of unusual form and fine craftsmanship. It is circular, thick and flat, with a recessed reverse. The die has a complicated central motif, described from the impression. On the left is the standing figure of the Madonna or Virgin Mary, with the Christ Child held in her arms towards the centre of the matrix. She is crowned and her face is towards the viewer, with hair or a veil to the sides; her right arm is bent across her body, and she has an obliquely draped skirt. The child is held in her left arm and his head is in side view, looking left towards his mother, and tilted back so that he looks upwards. To the viewer's far left, between the figure and the quatrefoil frame, is a tall lily with a V-shaped base (perhaps a pot, or slender leaves), a long stem, and three oval leaves or flowers with rounded lobes, one at the top and two branching out towards the quatrefoil frame. The lower right-hand side of the matrix is filled with a three-quarter length figure in profile looking left towards Mary. A ridge across his head forms a tonsure. He is wearing a long draped robe which is curved back at the waist to suggest kneeling, although the curve is rounded, and the lower part is short and tapering; no legs or feet are visible. The kneeling figure's hands are together in front of the body to indicate prayer, with thumb and fingers visible. From the tips of the fingers issues a ribbon-like scroll or banner, which runs upwards and then curves around the child's head to end in a line implying an unrolled end. There are five letters engraved on the matrix here, reading AVE * MA. To either side of the kneeling cleric (or monk) is a motif which probably represents a small leaf or flower, one underneath the bent arms and one behind the back, just above the end of the robe, The leaves or flowers are set on short stems and have pointed-oval bodies. Above his head, the space is filled with a sun or star, with six radiating arms which are all slightly curved to give an impression of clockwise movement. This central scene is set within a quatrefoil frame, with each foil separated by a small angled point. The ridge that makes up the quatrefoil is decorated on its inner face with tiny relief crosses (on the impression), probably made on the matrix by stamping. Outside the quatrefoil, each of the angles (or spandrels) is filled with three small dots. The inscription around is set between an outer beaded and an inner plain ridged border. It is written in neat serifed capitals, and reads * TE: ROGO: IVSTICIE: SOL: PIVS: ESTO: VIE (discussed below). The higher, flat parts of the die face are gilded. The sides of the matrix are neatly flat, and also gilded. The arris (or angle) between the die face and the sides is in most places sharp; there are two small chips missing (fresh breaks). The reverse has a neat drilled dot in the centre and many scratches, probably manufacturing marks, covering the ungilded surface. Around the edge is a taller gilded wall, 1.4mm thick, which has a gilded strip 2.1mm wide soldered to its top and projecting over the reverse to form a rebate. Some of this strip has broken away, revealing the top of the wall to have widely spaced shallow radial notches, probably keying to grip the solder; elsewhere the soldered seam has sprung apart a little. The soldered-on strip retains two complete rectangular notches and a small part of a third. The complete notches are rectangular and c. 3mm wide; one has a small untidy diagonal cross scratched to either side. Dimensions: Diameter 24.6mm, maximum thickness 4.6mm, weight 10.7g. Discussion: This matrix is unusual in several ways. Although the design, the Virgin and Child with a kneeling cleric, is a fairly common one on both official ecclesiastical seals (e.g. BUC-4AB725, WAW-8A85AD) and personal seals (e.g. NMGW-82E4EA, HAMP-812EFC) it is more unusual on a circular seal and it difficult to find a close match to the details. In addition, there do not seem to be any close parallels to the inscription recorded on the PAS database, nor in Harvey and McGuinness (1996). The inscription is in Medieval Latin, but its translation is not straightforward; a photograph has been seen by Dr Malcolm Jones, whose comments have been incorporated here. Te Rogo can easily be translated as 'I beseech'. Iusticie Sol, 'sun of righteousness', appears in the Old Testament (Malachi 4, v. 2; in the Vulgate, Malachi 3, v. 20), towards the end of a set of prophecies, and became a relatively common way of referring to Jesus Christ in the Middle Ages ('the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings'). Pius must refer to Sol, the sun, as it is a masculine adjective; giving us 'I beseech you, holy sun of righteousness'. Esto is an imperative meaning 'be', and Vie means 'the way', in the sense that Jesus uses it in John 14, v. 6 (Ego sum via et veritas et vita, I am the way and the truth and the life). The full inscription therefore can be read as 'I beseech Thee, holy Sun of Righteousness, be the way'. The construction seems to imply a detachable handle, with the matrix rotating either to lock it in position, or to remove it, as if interchangeable dies could be used with the same handle. A socket for a separately made (perhaps wooden) handle is found on matrices for use with alnage or subsidy seals (see NFAHG-C241B0 for an example). These are, however, very different, with the die apparently permanently attached to the handle. Other two-piece dies are known (e.g. YORYM-2006DE) but these are again different, working to raise or lower the central motif so that it can be used with or without the inscription. Date: Late 13th or 14th century.

NMS-3AB171: PENDANT
Description: Silver cross-shaped pendant of medieval date, with AGLA inscription. It has a central thick flat circular lobe and four oval-section arms. Three of the arms end in globular knobs; the upper arm has a similar knob, but then continues to a large, probably soldered-on oval loop, pierced from side to side. The central lobe has engraved decoration on both faces, consisting of a circular border with letters within. On the front the letters read AG, with the G suffering from corrosion, and on the reverse they read LA, with the A being turned at right angles so that the apex points away from the L. The letters have large crude serifs. Dimensions: Length 28.3mm, width 20.4mm, diameter of central lobe 9mm, thickness of central lobe 2.2mm, maximum thickness (at loop) 5.8mm. Weight 3.01g. Discussion: AGLA was a popular charm used in the Middle Ages to fend off fever and possibly also the Black Death. The letters are an abbreviation of a Hebrew saying, "Ata gibor le'olam Adonai" (You are mighty forever, O Lord). Several AGLA pendants have the letters arranged incorrectly; compare BERK-EF232D and HAMP-319834. Date: 13th or 14th century.

NMS-25921E: BROOCH
Description: Brooch made from a coin of Ethelred II (978-1016), small cross type, now incomplete and in two pieces. The obverse is gilded, and the reverse has two patches of solder. The coin is an example of Aethelred's first small cross type, struck by the moneyer Godman, probably of London (GODMAN MO [?}LV[...], the L being obscured by a patch of solder). North 764, c.978-9. Dimensions: approximately 20mm diameter, weight 1.21g. Discussion: Brooches made from coins are Weetch's type 2.B. This is an unusual example, as it is more common for the reverse to be used as the ‘display’ side, and the pin to be fixed using rivets (Weetch 2014, 72). Other examples with soldered-on pins are known (e.g. NMS-8A0333 and SUR-8F2191) but are less common. The resulting brooches were usually small and rather fragile; the fittings are often broken off or partially broken. Date: The coin was minted in 978-9 AD. The adaptation of the coin into a brooch is not likely to have taken place very long after issue. In any event, the frequent re-coinages of this period would have meant that few coins stayed in circulation for longer than ten or so years.

NMS-6E0D9C: BROOCH
Incomplete copper-alloy late Iron Age or early Roman Langton Down brooch, with the outer ends of the spring, most of the pin, the lower part of the bow and all of the catchplate missing. The wings consist of a thin undecorated sheet cylinder with a seam along the reverse and a slot in the centre for the copper-alloy circular-section pin. The broad bow springs from the centre of the wings, with a faint curved ridge running round the top and grazing the edge of the pin slot. The bow is thin and C-shaped in cross-section, with remains of very worn vertical grooving on the front. It tapers to a worn break. The wings are 24.2mm wide and the surviving length of the brooch is 19.1mm. It weighs 5.03g. It is probably either a Mackreth 2.a or 2.b, but as these two types are distinguished by the detail of their decoration, it cannot be typed any more precisely. Langton Down brooches date to c. 25-60 AD, and were made on the Continent and imported to Britain.

NMS-403598: BUCKLE
Medieval gilded copper-alloy buckle plate with worn, corroded decoration, probably of a wyvern. It is roughly square (20.8mm wide and 19.0mm long) with two projecting hinge loops, both of which are broken. The front is decorated with a bird-like animal in profile facing right (towards the attachment end) originally apparently engraved and gilded, but not enamelled. Much of the surface is now missing, but the remains of oblique or zig-zag lines can be seen at either end, probably the remains of rocker-arm engraving. The centre of the plate is filled with the bird or animal, which is probably the right way up when the hinge loops are held to the left. Although it is difficult to work out which body part is which, there are better-preserved similar examples on the PAS database (especially NMS-40D817, but also NMS-3DF456, NMS-7D683E and NMS-BCD863) which have helped identify the elements. A long thin triangular wing (or possibly tail), with engraved detail, can be seen running downwards towards the outer corner, with a rounded shoulder or body, again with detail suggesting scales or feathers, in front of it. A ridge emerges from the front of this and runs upwards and backwards; this may be a long thin neck, but the head cannot be clearly seen. A probable tail emerges from beneath the top of the wing and tapers steeply before turning a sharp angle upwards; this is decorated with oblique grooves. There is corrosion around the bird or animal, and although no enamel now survives, it may have been on an enamelled ground originally (compare NMS-40D817, which has Limoges-style enamelling). CAM-DB88D7 and SF-8F88A2 also appear to have rocker-arm or interrupted rocker-arm at at least one end of the plate. The hinge loops bring the surviving length to 21.3mm. There are two rivet holes, one at each corner of the attachment end, and one retains a small neat copper-alloy rivet 5.2mm long and 2mm in diameter at the centre. The plate is 1.2mm thick and the object weighs 2.7g. A similarly decorated buckle plate was found in a context of 1400-1450 AD in London (Egan and Pritchard 1991, no. 530) but was thought to have been of earlier date, probably 13th century. The best parallel on the PAS database, NMS-40D817, has also been dated to the 13th century.

NMS-B0FF45: MOUNT
Description: Unusual partly gilded silver and niello-inlaid mount of early-medieval date, perhaps broken and repaired. It is rectangular, thick and hollowed on the reverse, and decorated in Carolingian-style relief with openwork elements. The decoration is based around a bold raised flat-topped diagonal cross or saltire dividing the square into quarters, with a worn boss in the centre and at the end of each arm. At the end of each arm of the saltire is a low-relief leaf motif, with a sunken, lobed centre and an outcurved leaf to either side which is inlaid with a niello line. Each triangular field formed by the saltire is filled with a hollow-centred, V-shaped leaf motif, one of which has some iron corrosion adhering. Each half of the V has a sunken trefoil centre, and from each one emerges a flat--topped rectangular ridge which runs to the edge. The very end of each of these ridges, as it droops to the edge, has a dot or recess. To either side of these pairs of ridges is an oval hole, making eight holes in total. One short side has a slight rough flange along its edge, perhaps where a larger attachment edge has broken away, but there is no trace of any attachment hole. The reverse has a pale yellow surface, apparently gilded, with a very flat mid grey rim around the edge; the grey here is probably solder. Dimensions: 26.5mm long by 22.2mm wide, and 8.1mm in height. The rim around the reverse is a maximum of 3mm wide. It weighs 11.7g. Discussion: This mount fits well into a group of rectangular Carolingian-style gilded silver mounts and strap-ends with saltire and leaf decoration, such as NARC-10F5B2, NMS-55FBD7, LIN-2D80AB, NMS-ADCA16, ESS-109B16. None have openwork decoration, however; and all have attachment holes or integral rivets. It is possible that this object may originally have had a flanged attachment edge which has been broken away and that it has been re-attached with solder. Date: Mid 9th to late 10th century, c. 850-1000 AD.

NMS-84BB97: HOARD
Hoard of four Iron Age gold coins. Coins 2, 3 and 4 were found within 10m of each other, and coin 1 was found 30m further to the south. Catalogue: 1. Stater, Corieltavi, North East Coast, Rudd's so-called Right type, ABC1716, 6.33g, c.50-1 BC 2. Stater, Corieltavi, North East Coast, Rudd's so-called Right type, ABC1716, 6.26g, c.50-1 BC 3. Stater, Corieltavi, North East Coast, Rudd's so-called Right type, ABC1716, 6.25g, c.50-1 BC 4. Quarter stater, Corieltavi, Rudd's so-called Lindsey scyphate type, ABC 1767, weight 1.42g, c.60-20 BC Discussion: All of the coins are staters or quarter staters of the Corieltavi, the tribe occupying what is now Lincolnshire and some surrounding areas. They are all very close in date and, not being local, surely travelled together to the findspot and went into the ground together, whether as an accidental loss or a deliberate deposition. Date: The coins were all manufactured between 60 and 20 BC and could have entered the ground at any time after 50BC.

NMS-72428F: THIMBLE
Rectangular piece of silver sheet, perhaps an unfinished thimble. It measures 69.5mm in length and 20.8mm tall, and the sheet is 0.2-0.3mm thick. It is very gently curved along its length, and the convex outer has an extra strip along one long edge, probably soldered on. This is 3.0mm wide and decorated with two parallel grooves; it brings the thickness of the object up to 0.5mm. It weighs 3.4g. One short edge is very neatly cut and there is no gap between the extra strip and the rest of the sheet. The other end is more irregular and appears perhaps torn; the sheet and the strip are more clearly separate here. At one point, both strip and sheet have a crease, and the strip has moved slightly. If this object was destined to be turned into a thimble, it would be the right height (a little over 21mm) but rather large in diameter (the circumference of 69mm implying a diameter of c. 22mm). Perhaps it part of a longer strip, ready to be cut into shorter lengths. It is difficult to find a parallel for a partly made thimble, but the separate strip soldered to the rim is also found on thimbles such as OXON-D83531 and WAW-62FAA2, both citing further parallels which indicate a date-range from the late 18th to early 20th century. These strips are, however, undecorated; grooved rims seem to be commoner on slightly earlier, 17th- or 18th-century thimbles (compare for example WILT-E0D5FE and SWYOR-373EF3).

NMS-09AD0E: FINGER RING
Silver strip, probably a finger-ring, now in two pieces (broken during discovery). It is bent out of shape but appears to originally have been circular, with half of the circle surviving (c. 20mm in original diameter). The strip has a consistent width of 4.5mm to 5mm (perhaps depending on how worn the edges are) and is a low D-shape in cross-section, 1.0mm thick. There is no decoration on either the convex exterior or the flat interior. One of the ends (on the smaller fragment) is neatly cut across and finished, and although the other is more rounded and possibly worn and with a corner missing, both could be original, implying a penannular ring. The unbent length of both fragments together is c. 68mm (17mm for the shorter plus 51mm for the longer piece) and it weighs 2.2g in total. This ring could have been complete in itself, with a butt joint either left open or with a soldered seam; alternatively, both ends could have been soldered to a separate bezel. The lack of decoration makes it hard to date. Although there are rings of similar dimensions that can be dated to the 15th to 17th centuries from their decoration or inscription (compare NMS-EB01C1, SUSS-4C2B28, SUSS-9B1A74 and SF-FBB922), and similar rings with soldered-on bezels of perhaps 15th-century date (e.g. HAMP-EF0FF6 and SOM-01346D), a detached undecorated hoop could equally be of later date, perhaps as late as the 19th century.

NMS-078751: BROOCH
Description: Medieval silver annular brooch. The frame is small, circular and a low D-shape in cross-section, with a constriction for the pin. It is now bent, broken across the constriction, and the pin is missing. The frame is decorated on the convex front with engraved and stamped decoration; held with the constriction at the top and reading anti-clockwise, the engraving consists of a transverse groove, then four saltires, then a half-saltire ending in a D-shaped recess. The lozenges and triangles thus formed are filled with triangular and sub-triangular punchmarks which seem to have been roughly arranged in double parallel lines (often called interrupted rocker-arm ornament). The flat reverse is undecorated. Dimensions: As bent, it now measures 18.1mm x 14.2mm, so its original diameter was probably c. 16mm. The frame is 3.4mm wide and 0.9mm thick, and the brooch weighs 0.9g. Discussion: Other small silver annular brooches with this kind of saltire or zig-zag decoration are recorded at CAM-9D6273, LVPL-85DA2C, SUSS-4246AB and NMS133. It was found together with NMS-070E37. Date: 13th or 14th century, c. 1200-1400 AD.

NMS-070E37: BROOCH
Description: Fragment of medieval silver annular brooch, with a slim circular-section frame interrupted by two small irregular bosses both decorated with annulet stamps giving a 'brambled' effect. Both breaks are immediately after the boss and both are granular and unworn. The frame is now bent so that it is difficult to suggest an original diameter. Dimensions: Length of fragment, 25mm. Diameter of frame between bosses, 1.8mm. Thickness of bosses, 3-4mm. Weight 0.9g. Discussion: This type of annular brooch, with a circular wire frame interrupted by normally four brambled bosses, is found most often in Norfolk and Suffolk, with relatively few outliers elsewhere. Compare well-preserved examples recorded at NMS1288, NMS-98AA06, NMS-ECB702, NMS-D000DC, DENO-85BB62, etc. It was found together with NMS-078751. Date: Egan and Pritchard llustrate two slightly different examples, a little chunkier or more robust, from excavations in London, one unstratified and one from a late 14th century context (1991, 254, nos.1330 and 1333). They are normally given a 13th- or early 14th-century date, c. 1200-1350 AD.

NMS-CD6871: BROOCH
Terminal from the foot of an early Anglo-Saxon cruciform brooch, now very corroded and battered about. It is broken (worn break) across some transverse grooves, and on the reverse here a line of a catchplate can be seen as a very slight raised and corroded line in the otherwise smooth brown patina. Below the grooves are two broad transverse mouldings, and then comes the simple horse-head terminal. The front of this is covered in corrosion bubbles, and very little detail can be seen, but it appears to taper slightly from where the eyes would have been, then flare out again to slim pointed-oval nostrils. The whole terminal is fairly narrow at 11.0mm wide. The reverse of the terminal is slightly hollowed and has a shiny brown patina. Surviving length 36.1mm, thickness 4.6mm, weight 6.67g. This is probably from a Martin type 2 brooch, dating to c. 475 to c. 550 AD.

NMS-38F2DE: BROOCH
Description: Tiny silver medieval annular brooch. It has an almost circular, D-section frame with a constriction for the silver pin. Opposite this is a pin rest, and both pin constriction and pin rest are flanked by animal heads pointing towards them, perhaps intended as biting at them. Each of the four animal heads has relief ears, eyes made from annulet punches, and nostrils made from single dots. If the pin constriction is held at 12 o'clock, then at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock is a slightly expanded raised oval zone of oblique grooves with probable annulet punches along the ridges in between. Although this looks a little like 'brambled' decoration, it was probably intended as wings, making the animals dragons. Because of the way that the oblique grooves are formed, it is possible to see each of these oval zones as a wing belonging to either animal head. The D-section silver pin is neatly made with two raised mouldings at the junction of loop and shaft. Dimensions: The frame measures 13.2mm wide (perpendicular to the pin) and 12.3mm long (parallel to the pin); the pin is also 12.3mm long. It is 1.4mm thick at most, and weighs 0.6mm. Discussion: The animal heads are beautifully made, although almost too small to see clearly with the naked eye. Double-headed dragons can be seen in a variety of designs on annular brooches recorded on the PAS database, but the closest parallels to the design come from Norfolk (e.g. NMS-CD4689, from Flitcham with Appleton, and NMS-15AD60, from Grimston). For a comparably tiny example with a slightly different design, see YORYM-1CB322. It is hard to imagine how these minute brooches would have been worn; presumably the fabric they were pinned to had to be equally fine, perhaps of silk. Date: 13th or 14th century.

NMS-38706A: SOCKETED AXEHEAD
Fragment of mouth from a large socketed axe of late Bronze Age date (c. 1000 to 800 BC). About half survives, with one angle between front and side, showing that (when viewed from the top) the mouth was originally sub-square or sub-rectangular, with convex sides. One filed-down oval bump on the top, near the break at the side, is probably the remains of a casting runner stub. Viewed from the front, the moulding around the mouth droops outwards with a bevelled edge. Immediately below this there is a clear, neat vertical ridge running down the centre of the side for the complete length of the fragment, and a more blurred vertical ridge at the top of the central rib on the front; both are probably the remains of casting seams [??]. These cross a horizontal ridge or collar around the axe; below this the front and side of the socket become fairly straight, meeting at an angle which is marked by a rib down the arris. On the front, further vertical ribs extend downwards from the horizontal ridge, probably originally three, with the central one continuing the line of the casting seam; the third rib is now completely missing. The side has no vertical ribs. The fragment has a smooth brown patina with small patches of greener corrosion showing through in a few places. The break varies in condition from fresh to very slightly worn. Surviving width c. 38mm, surviving thickness c. 41mm, surviving length 33mm, weight 39.5g. [Jason to add original estimated dimensions of width and thickness at top?]

NMS-37CA51: PALSTAVE
Almost-complete copper-alloy unlooped palstave of middle Bronze Age date (c. 1600-1400 BC), in very good condition. The blade is broadly sub-triangular, with relatively straight flaring sides which then curve sharply out to a curved convex cutting edge. One corner of this is squared off, apparently an original feature, but the other corner is missing (a very fresh, recent break). The two faces of the axe are identical. There are three very neat breaks of slope towards the cutting edge and running parallel to it. The upper half of the slope, like the rest of the blade, is smoothly polished with a few mainly vertical scratches or filemarks (vertical when the axe is held with butt upwards). The lower half of the slope, in contrast, is covered with scratches parallel to the edge, which look like sharpening filemarks, and is slightly hollowed. The very edge has a just-visible line where the metal finally slopes to a point. At the top of the blade, immediately below the stop ridge, both faces of the palstave have a shield-shaped depression containing three low vertical ridges. On both faces the central ridge is slightly higher and carries down a little onto the main area of the blade. The stop ridge is slightly curved downwards on one face, but straight on the other. Above the stop ridge, the sides of the axe are almost parallel, tapering almost imperceptibly to the butt, which is gently convex. Viewed from the side, the blade flares smoothly and gently from the breaks of slope, to a much steeper slope at the start of the stop ridge; there is very slight ridge across each side here. Above this, the flanges are mainly straight as they taper towards the butt, with a slight inwards curve at the end. Each side has a central seam (a slight groove) running the full length of the object, showing that it was cast in a two-piece mould. Most of the axe is covered with a smooth dark brown patina, although this is rubbed away on the flanges of one face to show the bright metal beneath.

NMS-7E0297: WEIGHT
Circular lead weight, 24mm in diameter, 7mm thick and with a rectangular cross-section. One face is decorated with a pair of concentric ridges within which is a relief design which is probably a rose, although now damaged and unclear; it has a central boss within what may be a ring of broad petals. The other face is flat and undecorated. It weighs 26.9g, which is 0.95oz, so it is likely to have been a 1-ounce weight. There are several lead weights recorded on the database with rose decoration, none particularly like this example; they were probably locally made informal weights of the 16th or 17th century.

NMS-7DD71B: SPINDLE WHORL
Lead spindle whorl, 31-32mm in diameter and 11-12mm tall. It has a flat underside, with a slight concentric groove, and a smoothly domed top which is decorated with five evenly spaced curving radial ribs or ridges, each c. 2-3mm wide. The central perforation is almost cylindrical, flaring a little from c. 9.5mm at the top to c. 10mm wide at the bottom. It weighs 57.2g. Excavated parallels with good dates are few, but seem to centre on the late medieval period, perhaps 14th or 15th century.

NMS-7DA399: BROOCH
Copper-alloy medieval annular brooch, now very corroded and with much of its surface missing. The frame is 30.1mm in diameter, and was originally rectangular in cross-section, with rounded corners; where it survives best the frame measures 4.7mm wide and 3.0mm thick. It is undecorated, but has a pin constriction 3.3mm wide and a short, V-shaped nick forming a pin rest opposite this. The pin does not survive. It weighs 5.2g. It is fairly similar in proportions to a decorated copper-alloy annular brooch found in a context of c. 1270-1350 in London (Egan and Pritchard 1991, no. 1313).

NMS-7D7C83: PIN
Head and part of shaft from a copper-alloy pin. The head is circular, 14.3mm in diameter and with a rounded edge. The top has a groove around the edge and is convex within this. The edge is rounded, and the head is about 7mm thick. The underside tapers into a circular-section shaft 6.9mm in diameter, which then steps down to 5.0mm in diameter before a worn break. Total surviving length 17.5mm long, weight 8.6g. It is somewhat like DOR-B177D4 and WILT-45E175, which have been dated to the early or middle Iron Age (500 to 200 BC), although this example has a lower central dome is lower and a narrower groove around the edge.

NMS-7D0591: BROOCH
Late Iron Age brooch made from a single piece of copper alloy. The spring is large, with two coils on either side of the pin joined by an external chord running across the top of the spring. About half of the pin is missing, with a fairly fresh break across an oval cross-section. The bow flattens and widens from the spring to a maximum of 11mm wide, then tapers with straight edges to the foot. The upper part of the bow is flat, decorated with two median longitudinal ridges and a border groove, worn away over much of one edge, which all run down to a central D-section area which is marked by a broad transverse flute top and bottom, both flanked by a narrower groove to either side. Between these flutes (or U-section grooves) is an area of cross-hatching about 5mm long. The lower part of the bow is rounded in cross-section, undecorated, and now bent, with the very end of the brooch missing. Most of the perforated or framed catchplate survives, with a single triangular perforation that has an incurved upper edge. The return of the catchplate is bent over to the left (when viewed from the reverse). It has a green patina with patches of brown, with some shiny areas where the corroded surface has worn away to the metal. Maximum width (at spring) 14.7mm. Surviving length as bent, c. 60mm. Original length roughly 100mm. Weight 13.3g. Very similar to Mackreth (2011) no. 3776, except that no. 3776 has an internal chord. This type is called by Mackreth the Stead 3.a, and he comments that they date to early in the first century BC, those with external chords being hardly later than 75 BC. This is a relatively rare type of brooch.

NMS-28D354: UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT
Silver object of post-medieval date. It is a cylindrical tube, with a closed undecorated base with a central scar as if a loop has been torn away. The base projects to form a rim about 2mm deep, which has an obliquely beaded edge (resembling cabling) which is now very worn. Above, the sides are of thin sheet, with the top cut into a zig-zag of eight V-shaped cut-outs and eight projecting points which are now mostly bent inwards. A crack runs from the base of one of the cut-outs to just above the base. The sides are decorated with a engraved zig-zag border just below the top edge, then below this four V shapes made from reserved strap-work. Inside the V shapes, short engraved lines stretch upwards from the base; between the V shapes are longer vertical lines, none of which reach the upper border. Base diameter c. 12-12.5mm, diameter above base c. 10mm, height 14.8mm, thickness of silver at top 0.4mm, weight 2.3g. No precise parallel has been found on the PAS database, but comparable examples in the British Museum (OA.1397, OA.1401 and OA1384.a-b) suggest this object might be a socket for an amulet made of stone or an animal’s tooth. All have the zig-zag edge, and OA.1397 also has closely comparable engraved decoration. The V&A also has two comparable objects, M.13-1917 and M.14-1917. No dates are given for the objects in the British Museum, although all were acquired as part of the Franks collection, which was given to the Museum in 1897. The V&A's objects come from the Hildburgh Gift (donated 1956) and are thought to have been made in Spain in the 19th century. On balance, this object seems from the parallels to be late post-medieval, probably 19th-century.

NMS-AB83CA: FIGURINE
Chunky lead figurine, showing a woman and child. The woman is sitting on a low seat, concealed by her long skirt, with her legs stretched out to the viewer's left; her right (upper) knee appears bent and from the reverse can be seen within the skirt. Her left arm is around a small standing child with rounded head and bare legs, who is facing left (from the viewer's point of view). The child has its head against the woman's shoulder and chest, but there is a scrape down the centre of the woman's body, just in front of the child, so details here have been lost. The woman's left leg may be shown in front of the child, again with bent knee, and her right arm appears to be bent in front of her body. Her face has also been affected by the scrape. The reverse has more detail, with long hair tied back and what looks like a waist belt and possibly a shawl over the woman's right shoulder. The irregular oval base is flat, allowing the figurine to stand upright in a stable position. It measures 35.5mm long, 37.5mm high and the base is 18.6mm wide; it weighs 92.9g. It is very like SUR-13C64C, which suggests that these figurines (whatever their use) may have been mass-produced. Because of this, and the general feel of the item and its subject matter, it is likely to be post-medieval (18th or 19th century) rather than Roman in date.

NMS-AB4973: STRAP END
Copper-alloy strap-end of early-medieval date. Although fairly solid in feel, it is now very worn and most details have been lost. It tapers from a maximum of roughly 8.4mm wide at the split end, where some pieces of the edge have been lost. One half of the split end, apparently the front, is substantially thinner than the other half; both have a single, slightly off-centre circular rivet hole. The strap-end is oval in cross-section, with the front a little more strongly curved than the reverse. No identifiable decoration survives, but there is a very slight waist just over halfway down, then a raised bump above a depression about two-thirds of the way down. This is likely to be the start of an animal-head terminal, with the bump being the remains of ears. A lower bump, below the depression, may represent the brow or eyes, and the front of the strap-end then gently slopes down to a pointed tip which may be the nose. It is a total of 51.9mm long, a maximum of 4.8mm thick, and weighs 6.4g. The proportions are those of Thomas's Class B strap-ends, which date broadly from the 9th or 10th centuries, perhaps into the 11th. Not enough detail survives to narrow down the type or a more precise date.

NMS-AA47D1: SEAL MATRIX
Description: Tiny post-medieval silver seal matrix. The die is circular, and decorated with a beaded border a little way in from the edge. Within this is a motif of an acorn; an oval with a small boss or knop at the top, a large cup made up of ten punched dots at the base, with a curving stem and a pair of schematic leaves (not obviously oak leaves) below. There is no inscription. The matrix has a hexagonally faceted conical handle which rises, tapers to a waist and then flares slightly before ending in a rectangular-section trefoil openwork handle. There is a faint groove around the handle just below the junction with the trefoil, which is worn away in places. The acorn is the right way up when the handle is held vertically, but there is no mark to show the top of the design. Dimensions: Diameter of die 8.9mm, overall height 15.1mm, weight 1.3g. Discussion: Just over a quarter of the post-medieval seal matrices recorded on the PAS database are of silver, and many have no inscription, but few are this small. A good parallel is HESH-24B3F6, which is engraved with a winged heart within a beaded border. An acorn is a common decorative motif from the 16th and 17th centuries, appearing on buckles and harness mounts, and used as an initial mark on coins. Date: 16th or 17th century.

NMS-188BC9: BOOK FITTING
Copper-alloy book clasp of Howsam's type A.3, made from a thin strip of copper-alloy sheet mostly 14.2mm wide, with one end flaring to 15.4mm wide before being broken. The break is across the outer of two concentric grooves around a rivet hole (blocked with iron corrosion), with a second similar motif around a second rivet hole in the centre of the clasp. The other end of the clasp has a flat, slightly tapering, turned-under hook. It has further decoration of three transverse rows of fine rocker-arm ornament between the central circles and the hook, with a V shape of similar rocker-arm running from the final row to enclose the circles. Surviving length 36.7mm, thickness of plate 1.0mm, weight 3.0g. This type of book clasp is thought to date to the 15th or 16th century, but the rocker-arm on this one probably means that it is a relatively early example.

NMS-EC89F6: VESSEL
Cast copper-alloy leg from a medieval cooking vessel. It is roughly rectangular in cross-section, 32 x 14mm at the break, with a very slight midrib down the centre. It flares smoothly to the out-turned foot, and there is no break between the two. The foot is triangular in side view, with a trapezoidal base 39mm wide at most and 22mm deep. It is 47mm long and weighs 109.5g. There is no particularly close parallel in Butler and Green 2003; it is fairly similar to one from a 14th-century context in Winchester (Biddle 1990, no. 3386).

NMS-EC471B: STRAP FITTING
Part of a medieval gilded copper-alloy strap fitting, probably from horse-harness. It consists of a single rectangular plate, 9mm wide and 2.5mm thick, slightly rounded on the front and flat on the reverse, with half of a rounded loop at one end which appears to have worn through. The plate has two circular rivet holes through it, one at either end. The object is very corroded, but the angle between plate and loop has preserved some surface, and there is a little around the upper rivet hole, and some on the reverse too. There are traces of gilding around the rivet hole. Total length 43.2mm, weight 5.8g. Compare SF-790245, and two similar iron examples from Winchester, from a late 12th- to 13th-century context and a 14th century context (Biddle 1990, fig.334, nos. 3895 and 3897).

NMS-EBCACA: BROOCH
Gilded copper-alloy Roman plate brooch of dished cone type, with white-metal coating on the reverse. Originally circular, all edges are now broken and worn. It has concentric decoration around a concave-sided cone in the centre, which is broken or badly worn on top so that any detail is now lost. The lower part of the central cone is more straight-sided, and around it is a concave dished ring. Beyond this is a circular ridge, and then a flat outer zone which is decorated with U-shaped or crescentic stamps, the points outermost. Apart from the top of the central cone, all parts of the front have thick yellow gilding which survives well in patches. On the reverse are two worn stubs in line with each other, the remains of the pin lug at one end and the catchplate at the other. There is a thick shiny white-metal coating surviving over most of the reverse. It measures 22.2mm long between the stubs of pin fixings, and 18.8mm wide perpendicular to the pin; it is roughly 9.5mm thick in total and weighs 5.0g. The 'dished cone' is one of Mackreth's British Plate types, his type 5, which he dates to c. 80-250 AD. In Hattatt's typology it would probably be called a tutulus brooch. Similar examples, with stamped decoration, include NMS-B44FA0, NMS-474D34 (with tinned reverse), NLM-5C58F0 (with gilded front and white-metal coating on the reverse).

NMS-E9DBAE: BROOCH
Early-medieval copper-alloy disc brooch of Kershaw's East Anglian Series, type I. It is flat and circular, now missing part of the edge, but with enough surviving to give a diameter of 28.2mm. It has cast relief decoration of a central sunken circle, surrounded by a raised double-strand concave-sided lozenge, with each of the four corners extending to form a loose clockwise knot of double-strand interlace. There is a slight raised rim around the surviving edge. On the reverse are the stubs of a double lug, perpendicular to the edge of the brooch, which formed the pin hinge. Opposite this is a broken drilled lug, parallel to the edge of the brooch, which formed the catch. The brooch is now worn overall, including the breaks. It is 1.2mm thick away from the lugs, and a maximum of 4.9mm thick including the best-preserved part of the pin hinge. It weighs 4.5g. The double pin lug set perpendicular to the edge of the brooch is thought to be Scandinavian in style and is unusual for this more Anglo-Scandinavian brooch type (Kershaw 2013, 56, 63-64). They date broadly to the late 9th or 10th century.

NMS-D815F6: BUCKLE
Medieval gilded copper-alloy buckle plate, now incomplete. The flat D-shaped upper plate survives, broken at the hinge loops and now bent. It is decorated with a border of engraved ladder pattern made up of a double border with transverse lines between, forming squares. This border runs in a straight line across the plate behind the pin slot, and then hugs the curved edge. Within the border are three rivet holes, two of which retain copper-alloy rivets with slightly convex round heads. The plate has a rough brown surface with patches of green, and traces of gilding. Length c. 20mm, width c. 38mm originally, thickness of plate c. 1mm, thickness of rivets c.5mm, weight 4.5g. Compare LIN-568DE8 SF-9EBB23, HAMP-5BBC74, etc. Probably 13th century.

NMS-D7D2A9: SPEARHEAD
Fragment of cast copper-alloy spearhead of Middle or Late Bronze Age date (c. 1600-800 BC). It has a circular-section socket which survives to c. 9mm deep; the line of the socket then forms a wide, thick solid midrib running all the way to the point. There is a flat wing to either side of the midrib, each tapering with straight edges towards the point. The very tip of the point has broken off (worn break). The wings and socket are broken (worn breaks) part of the way along the spearhead's outward flare, so it is not easy to tell the original size of the object. Both wings have a median longitudinal line where they begin to taper to the sharper edges; most of the edge survives reasonably well. Surviving length 64.3mm, surviving width 26.6mm, maximum thickness (at broken end of socket) 10.7mm, weight 21.1g. It has a deep brown patina.

NMS-D6903A: HARNESS PENDANT
Medieval gilded copper-alloy horse-harness pendant, now very worn. It is in the shape of an upside-down fleur-de-lis, with a suspension loop projecting from the top (the centre of the stem). The loop is pierced from side to side, although the small hole is now blocked with copper-alloy corrosion. The body of the pendant is thin and flat, slightly convex on the front and concave on the reverse. Much of the edge is missing, but the fleur shape, with side lobes incurved on their undersides, is clear. No decoration survives apart from small patches of gilding. Length 36.1g, surviving width 19.5mm, thickness at loop 4.6mm, thickness of plate 1.1mm, weight 1.9g. This is not a particularly common shape, but compare NMS-4F3FE1, NMS-31BC95, PUBLIC-FFDAB9, and (rather chunkier in proportions) PUBLIC-A3A5F5 and SUR-73D3C1. It is possible that such flat and flimsy pendants are relatively early in the sequence of horse-harness pendants, perhaps late 12th or early 13th century.

NMS-D5BD87: STIRRUP
Copper-alloy 11th-century stirrup-strap mount of Williams's Class A, Type 14, consisting of a cross-shaped top and a flaring triangular plate. The upper arm of the cross is short and wide, and the two side arms are long and thin, the right-hand arm (as viewed from the front) being distinctly longer and thinner. There is no surviving decoration on any of the arms, but they are very worn, so decoration may have been lost and the arms may have been damaged or modified. Where they cross is a circular rivet hole 4.1mm in diameter. The sides of the mount then flare out to form a triangular plate which is decorated with engraved lines, forming a trapezoidal border around seven or eight lines which radiate from the direction of the rivet hole. The base of the mount has an angled flange, and just above this is a central iron rivet which retains half of a corroded, but still recognisably rectangular, plate on the reverse. Length 36.9mm, width 33.6mm, thickness of arms 3.5mm, thickness of plate at top 4.2mm, maxmum thickness of flange and rivet 8.0mm, weight 15.9g.

NMS-54BB84: FINGER RING
Description: Heavy but small gold finger-ring set with an intaglio engraved with a horse facing right (left in impression). The ring is of Guiraud's type 2c and Henig's type II. The hoop is biconvex in cross-section, flaring from a minimum of 2.6mm wide and 2.2mm thick at the point furthest from the bezel into smooth, undecorated shoulders which in turn swell into the oval bezel. The oval intaglio is pale brown in colour. It is raised from the surface of the bezel and its sides are sloped and rounded, exploiting the layered nature of the stone so that the horse is cut against a darker background and surrounded by a lighter aureola. The design is that of a horse standing on a baseline made from a single groove. The horse stands firmly on three legs, with the foreleg nearest to the observer (its left leg, or right leg on an impression) slightly lifted. Its neck droops and the mouth is slightly open; the overall effect is that of slow movement. It has a hogged mane, a long slender body, and a long tail textured with short oblique dashes, similar to the mane. Dimensions: External width 22.4mm. Height from top of bezel to back of hoop, 21.1mm. Thickness across bezel, 13.0mm. Weight 11.1g. Discussion: Finger-rings of Guiraud's type 2 are a well-known Roman type, but examples in gold are not common. On the PAS databsse, the closest parallel is probably CAM-7FCC3B. Despite its pale brown colour, the gem is likely to be a carnelian. The cutting of the intaglio is good, and points to a date in the earlier part of the Roman empire before the decline of gem engraving and the increased use of moulded glass pastes in the third century AD. Date: A first-century date is likely and the gem is probably of the Augustan period (27BC-AD14) in which case its manufacture would pre-date the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43.

NMS-C98E64: MOUNT
Piece of copper-alloy binding strip or mount, probably from furniture, a box or casket, or similar. It is D-shaped in cross-section, with a flat reverse and curved top. It is broken at both ends and has vaguely zoomorphic decoration. Surviving length 75mm, width of wider part 13mm, maximum thickness 5.3mm, weight 16.3g. At one end it is broken across a circular rivet hole c. 3mm in diameter; here the break seems fairly fresh. The hole has punched dots around it and there is a trace of an oblique groove. There is then an undecorated area c. 25mm long, with a similar rivet hole near the other end. This is off centre and has broken through to the edge of the mount. Beyond this is another arc of dots around a V-shaped groove, then a crisp set of three mouldings cut through by oblique grooves to form what should probably be interpreted as an animal head. First comes triangular mouldings which are probably ears, then a rectangular moulding with V-shaped groove which is probably the brow, then a rectangular moulding with double V-shaped groove which is probably the snout. From the snout issues a narrower, lower D-section rod which turns smoothly to the side before being broken (worn break). These mounts are common finds but are hard to interpret as they seem never to have survived in situ, still fixed to an object. Compare NMS-3952B1 and NMS-C31E31, which also have the dot decoration. DENO-E1A243, NMS-07252C and NMS-7094D4 also end in narrowed bars (DENO-E1A243 being similarly bent to one side). NMS-AA890D has a pierced terminal, and NMS-B81351 and NMS-2B4205 are broken at lozengiform flattened areas. These features suggest that they may have had functions beyond that of decoration. They have usually been dated to the 12th to 14th centuries.

NMS-9E18ED: DAGGER
Copper-alloy quillon from a knife or dagger guard, probably of medieval date. The object is cast in one piece, and is broken across the end of the hole through which the iron tang would have passed (fairly fresh break). Beyond this it turns a right angle downwards, and then there is a C-shaped curve, points upwards. The rearmost point, where it springs from the rest of the object, is a flat oval platform. The curve then acts as a neck, because the other end is shaped into an animal or possibly human head, with dots on the sides for ears, dots on the front for eyes, and a V-section mouth that also helps to form a nose above. It is tempting to see the irregularities on the side of the oval platform as evidence for wings, making this a dragon, but they are probably just casting flaws. Overall length 26.0mm, maximum width (at broken end) 9.6mm, weight 5.3g. Compare other quillons with heads at ESS-456C06 (much larger), LIN-1B00B5, NMS-8FD066 and SF-E5CF33; none are particularly close parallels. ESS-456C06 is dated to the 17th century; the others have all been dated to the 13th or 14th centuries, and the head on this example is more reminiscent of medieval art.

NMS-9DAFF0: BOOK FITTING
Book clasp of Howsam's type A.3, probably 15th or 16th century, now slightly bent. It is made from two sheets of copper alloy, a front sheet with flared end and hook, and a shorter rectangular backplate, joined by a copper-alloy rivet. The front plate is mainly 9.1m wide, the flared end broken across a rivet hole which is surrounded by a groove. There is decoration of neat transverse grooves, perhaps in pairs, now hard to see; other decoration may now have vanished. The hook is 3.6mm wide. Length 44.0mm, maximum width 10.7mm, thickness of front plate 0.7mm, weight 2.4g.

NMS-9D7BFC: FURNITURE FITTING
Globular knob handle from furniture, made from copper alloy, now very corroded. It is basically spherical, 25.0mm in diameter, with one end tapering into a waist and then flaring out again into a cone. This then steps in to form a blunt-ended attachment shaft c. 4.5mm square in cross-section. The opposite end probably has a small boss, but this is covered with bubbly corrosion. There are small patches of smooth surface visible, mostly green or grey-green. These handles are found in both the Roman and post-medieval periods, but the patina suggests a Roman date for this one. Length 44.0mm, weight 61.5g.

NMS-99D011: DAGGER
Post-medieval dagger guard made from copper alloy, consisting of a central block with a quillon to either side. The block is flat, 6.5mm thick, with a rectangular hole measuring 9 x 6mm through its centre to accommodate the tang of the dagger. Viewed from the top or bottom the block is hexagonal, and viewed from the side each face has a central vertical ridge with another at either end where the block meets the quillons. These three ridges on either side divide the block into two panels, decorated in mirror-image with two central longitudinal dashes (short grooves) with pairs of oblique dashes above and below. The decoration is identical on both faces. The quillons are also identical, both octagonal in cross-section and flaring very slightly from 6.2mm wide to 7.0mm wide before stepping in to a narrower circular cross-section which is decorated with a ridge before ending in an end-flattened knob. The faces of the octagonal area are decorated with more short oblique dashes. Total length 84.2mm, maximum width of block (including ridges) 15.4mm, weight 24.5g. There is only one close parallel on the PAS database, ESS-45D9F7, which although half the length has similar short grooved or stabbed decoration; this has been dated to c. 1550-1750, but on what grounds is unclear. LANCUM-2E754A, SUSS-CF9FDC and KENT-31C8AA have the same basic shape, and the last of these is dated to the late 17th century from comparable objects in the Royal Armouries. None of the medieval quillon-daggers in Ward Perkins (1940) have a similar straight, flat guard, and although there seems no close parallel in the Royal Armouries either, straight flaring quillons are also found on X.260 which is dated to 1580 to 1620. In conclusion, it seems likely to date to the late 16th or 17th century.

NMS-85E1C1: PURSE
Half of a copper-alloy purse bar of Williams's Class J. It is broken across the hole through the undecorated central block (worn break). The bar is oval in cross-section, 5.0 x 4.3mm in the centre, and the terminal is globular, decorated with perhaps seven worn curved, twisting ridges and grooves. Total surviving length 44.2mm, block 12.1mm tall, terminal 11.5mm diameter, weight 12.5g. Late medieval or early post-medieval, c. 1450-1550 AD.

NMS-85810F: HARNESS PENDANT
Incomplete medieval copper-alloy horse-harness pendant. It is crescent-shaped, points downwards, with a sturdy oval suspension lug in the centre of the convex edge, pierced from side to side by a small hole and with a ridge running across the base of the lug at the front. The body of the pendant has lost either end (worn breaks) and in between has a zig-zag lower (incurved) edge. It is decorated with double parallel lines of punchmarks forming a border around the upper edge, and a zig-zag pattern springing from the base of the lug, with each of the lower points of the zig-zag joined to the border by a short radial line. The reverse is undecorated, slightly concave, and with a rough surface. Surviving length from top of lug to centre of zig-zag edge 18.9mm, and to broken-off points 26.5mm; surviving width 33.5mm. Thickness of plate c. 2.3mm, thickness of lug 7.5mm. Weight 6.2g. The sturdy lug and concave shape sugggests a Roman date, but the decoration suggests a medieval date. Compare SF-C7F222, BH-CB6CE4, which have been given medieval dates, but also HESH-24A5E7 and SWYOR-B03244, which are thought to be Roman. It may in fact be Romanesque, and 12th century.

NMS-84FA3A: BROOCH
Incomplete Roman headstud brooch, now in poor condition having lost all its surface back to bare metal. The rectangular swept-back wings each retain a patch of blue enamel at their ends and a patch of red enamel further forward. On the reverse, the head is deeply hollowed in the centre, and has a long (but spindly) pierced lug or loop to hold the axis bar or tube around which the spring was coiled. On top of the head is a crest with a central hole that has worn through to the exterior, which would originally have held the chord of the spring. At the end of this, at the top of the bow, are the remains of the stud. This has a central dot and the remains of an encircling groove with a fragment of red enamel. Below, the bow curves and tapers smoothly to a rounded cross-section and then a break above the foot, with no decoration surviving on the bow. On the reverse of the bow, filling the curve, is a thin projection which is all that remains of a long catchplate. Length 41.5mm, width across wings 20.4mm, weight 11.8g. Headstud brooches were made from 75 to 200 AD; there is not enough decorative detail on this brooch to narrow the type down further.

NMS-8488EE: MIRROR CASE
Part of one half of a medieval copper-alloy mirror case. It is circular, 31mm in diameter, with a flange around the edge 3.3mm thick. Within the flanged inner face is a thin grey coating, with a patch of white corrosion in one part of the angle that probably represents the cement originally holding the glass. The flat outer face is decorated with grooves made up of punched dots, although detail is unclear as the surface looks like it has been dissolved away, with bare metal in places. The grooves form a central simple cross within a circular border, with an L shape in each angle giving the effect of a triple-strand cross; in each small quadrant formed by the L there is a radiating line. At the end of one of the cross arms there is a double pierced lug surviving, but the opposite lug is missing together with part of the circular plate. The breaks are not particularly fresh nor particularly worn. Total surviving length 35.2mm, weight 8.6g. These mirror cases seem to have a fairly restricted date-range of late 13th to early 14th century.

NMS-84154F: COSMETIC MORTAR
Copper-alloy centre-looped cosmetic mortar dating to the late Iron Age or Roman period (50 BC to 200 AD). It is smoothly curved along its length with slightly thickened rounded terminals. The U-section groove retains a shiny green patina, but this is missing over most of the rest of the surface meaning that the decorative details have been lost. The loop is simple, with an internal diameter of 6.8mm and a surviving external diameter of 15mm. Traces of a slight groove or flute can be seen along the exterior, just above the loop. Length 53.1mm, height from base of loop to centre of upper surface 23.1mm, maximum thickness 13.1mm, weight 21.5g.

NMS-83C951: RING
Copper-alloy ring, circular (25-26mm diameter) and of hexagonal cross-section, with filemarks on the outer angles. Solidly but not particularly neatly made, perhaps a little worn on the interior edges. 3.5mm thick, 3.5 to 4.5mm wide, weighs 5.2g. These rings probably had many uses, from brooch or buckle frames to harness rings, curtain rings and so on. The filemarks on this one probably indicate a medieval date.

NMS-75F0B1: SADDLE
Copper-alloy saddle pommel of post-medieval date (c. 1500-1700). It was apparently made in two halves which have been brazed together at a raised seam. Six further slightly lower ribs, each flanked by grooves, radiate from the midpoint of the seam, converging at a point which has a circular attachment hole just to one side. To either side of the point, both wings are lost (fairly old breaks) before there is another original curving edge at the back. It is 71mm tall, a maximum of 40mm in diameter, and weighs 116.1g. Compare LANCUM-CE4675 and YORYM-E3E676, which have the same decoration, and DEV-01E166 and LIN-696878, which show the original shape.

NMS-75A915: STRAP END
Incomplete copper-alloy strap-end of early-medieval date. It is rectangular, 24.4mm wide, and at 4.8mm thick, quite solid and heavy. The attachment end is much thinner (2.2mm) and now incomplete, being broken through at least two circular attachment holes. These are towards the middle of the width, and there is room for them to have been flanked by two others, making four in total. The rest of the strap-end is complete apart from a small part of one lower corner. The front steps up to the thicker area which has relief decoration of plants, probably flowers. Three stems spring downwards and outwards from a flat-topped rectangular boss at the top, and end in oval bosses each with three leaves or petals extending in fleur-de-lis fashion. At the other end of the strap-end is another rectangular boss from which two stems spring, each leading to an oval boss after which they split into two more stems which follow the edge of the strap-end, one up and one down, to end by each rectangular boss in another flower made up of an oval boss and a lis shape. The decoration fills the available space very neatly. The reverse is flat, undecorated and more corroded than the front. The surviving length is 36.1mm and it weighs 16.4g. This is the type of Carolingian-style strap-end which gave rise to the fairly common Winchester-style openwork strap-ends with three tendrils springing from the top, such as WILT-7B9CED and SUSS-254428. Rectangular strap-ends with this style of decoration are, however, not particularly common on the PAS database, and examples such as HAMP-9E6A09, WILT-6E9825, BH-0DBE37, SF10145 and ESS-D80727 (all copper alloy), or NARC-10F5B2 and SF-1E8422 (both silver) are all rather differently decorated. They date to the ninth or tenth centuries AD, which is probably also appropriate for this strap-end.

NMS-71E134: STIRRUP
Copper-alloy stirrup-strap mount of Williams Class B,with engraved decoration. The main part of the mount is large and rectangular with straight sides, 35.9mm wide, with an obliquely angled flange. The flange runs the full width of the mount and has a central hole with iron rivet, which retains a rectangular patch of iron corrosion around it on both front and reverse. The upper part of the mount is rounded and shaped into three concave curves or scallops on either side and one at the apex, making seven in all, and giving a roughly pentagonal shape to the mount. There is a circular attachment hole at the top of the mount, slightly off centre. The very neat decoration comprises an engraved border following the edge of the mount on all sides, and a single vertical line running up the centre and forking below the attachment hole to form a Y shape. This vertical line is crossed over (interrupted) by two pairs of horizontal lines which probably ought to be read as a ribbon, or strap-work; they run across at about a third, and about two-thirds, of the way up. They in turn are crossed over and interrupted by symmetrical ribbons again formed by double lines, consisting of an oblique line on either side with a loop at the base and another curve at the top. The effect is of a V with roundels either side of the base and curves within the top, and could be read as an animal head with tapering muzzle, nostrils and eyes. There may be more engraving on the lowest part of the mount, perhaps a V shape joining the nostrils, but corrosion here makes this unclear. The reverse also has a lot of corrosion. The plate gets thinner towards the top; its maximum thickness is about 2.4mm but it tapers to 1.3mm thick at the top. The overall length is 51mm and it weighs 24.5g. There are several solid flat straight-sided Class B stirrup-strap mounts that so far do not fit into any of Williams's types, but none very close to this example. They include Williams's no. 474, no. 476 and no. 479; no. 474, from Meols, also has the double-line ribbon or strap-work whereas no. 479, excavated at Waltham Abbey, has the same curving shapes as this one, although the other way up. On the PAS database there are several of the same shape as no. 474, with single deep concave curves to either side of the apex (e.g. NMS-78B015, HAMP-1BBA06, SF1890, and SUR-4D9E78); also compare incomplete examples NMS-974B64, HAMP1909 and PUBLIC-5D35E7, and the unusually shaped SUR-E6A723. They all date broadly to the 11th century AD.

NMS-7125D5: BUCKLE
An unusual copper-alloy buckle frame, probably early post-medieval in date. It is square, 27.5mm wide, with a roughly trapezoidal bar. The sides (or top and bottom edges) are a curved in cross-section, forming a quarter-circle, hollow on the reverse. They are decorated with a ridge across the ends close to the bar. The outside edge is semi-circular in cross-section, also hollow on the reverse, with bevelled ends; it is decorated with a ridge across each long edge. The outside edge has a notch on its inner edge for a pin rest, and on its outer edge is a hollow-backed lozenge-shaped projection with a flat top and two concentric steps around; the junction between lozenge and outside edge is marked with another ridge. Length 39.3mm, maximum thickness 4.6mm, weight 9.8g. It resembles a post-medieval buckle frame published by Whitehead (2003, no. 153) and dated to c. 1500-1650, although this has its bar set in from the ends of the sides. It probably dates to the 16th century AD.

NMS-708A83: MOUNT
Incomplete copper-alloy openwork mount of medieval date. About half of a (presumably originally circular) roundel survives, with a frame c. 3-4mm wide surrounding a central motif whose surviving part consists of three arms, the central one oval and the two flanking ones narrower and curving outwards. Beyond the frame, in line with the oval arm, is a large projection in the shape of a fleur-de-lis, with a groove across the rectangular base. The mount is flat, mostly 2mm thick, but has an integral circular-section rivet on the reverse of the lis which brings the overall thickness to 5.5mm. The breaks on the roundel are fairly worn, and one has caused a bend to the metal. Surviving length including lis-shaped projection, 33mm; surviving width across roundel 32.5mm, weight 6.5g. Compare SF-1172E7. Probably 13th or 14th century.

NMS-704044: STRAP END
Attachment end from a copper-alloy late Anglo-Saxon openwork strap-end, 24.5mm wide. The split end is closed down one side, so was presumably made by folding a wide strip in half. It is closed by two small copper-alloy rivets, each in an upper corner. The base of the split area is perforated by three circular holes each about 4mm in diameter, and below this there is a transverse ridge on both faces; one retains a hint of a groove along its length. Below this there are worn stubs of four vertical bars, one at either side and two in the centre, dividing the main body of the strap-end into three equally sized perforations or apertures, all probably originally rectangular. The surviving length is 21.0mm, and the strap-end is a maximum of 5.2mm thick at the ridge. It weighs 8.3g. The strap-end has a brown surface which looks as if it has been stripped by chemical action, and all possible decoration has been lost apart from the hint of a groove on one face. If this is the front, then the closed side of the split end is on the viewer's right. This fits well into a group of blunt-ended rectangular strap-ends with two or three rectangular apertures ending in a thicker bar at the end, published by Rogerson and Ashley (2021). They can have either split ends or sockets. A close parallel on the PAS database is NMS-DE557B.

NMS-4D5537: CUFF LINK
Silver cufflink element, missing all of its edge. What survives is the flat centre, decorated in the middle with a crudely engraved hexagon, with very short lines radiating inwards from its concave edges. In the centre is a circle with even shorter, finer lines radiating outwards; the two sets of short lines do not meet. The circle has another circle, or possibly heart shape, within it which is filled with parallel grooves. Surrounding the concave-sided hexagon are hints of eight dished areas, one of which retains a tiny fragment of original edge. This is straight, suggesting that the cufflink may originally have been hexagonal. On the reverse is a silver loop, now bent out of shape. Maximum surviving diameter 12.4mm, thickness including loop 4.4mm, weight 0.4g. The central motif looks as if it is based on the flower designs found on many octagonal cufflink elements, some of which also have dished areas around the rim outlined with curved grooves (e.g. SWYOR-81619B, NARC-DDBECA, etc.) These tend to be dated to c. 1725-1800 and therefore, although this object is made from silver, on the balance of probabilities it is less than 300 years old and does not count as Treasure.

NMS-CDAFBE: FINGER RING
Description: Large gold finger-ring with internal posy inscription and external decoration. The hoop is of even width throughout, and the exterior has a bold groove around either edge, with a convex surface in between. This is decorated with neatly engraved ornament, worn in places, consisting of oblique reserved strips (strapwork) between engraved lozenges each containing a five-petalled flower or rose in the centre, with stems and leaves filling the narrower corners. The diagonal lines give a twisted or cabled effect to the outside. The flatter (but still slightly convex) inner surface is engraved or punched with a short inscription in black-letter script consisting of three words, a ma vie (translatable as: [he or she] has my life). A faint hint of a seam can be seen in front of the inscription. Dimensions: External diameter 24mm, width of hoop 7.5-7.6mm, thickness of hoop 1.8mm, weight 9.1g. Discussion and Date: The size suggests a man's ring. The same amatory inscription, with the three words separated by flowers, is found on the interior of PAS-9E5727, and the exterior of LANCUM-082840, LEIC-66CD92 and CAM-2AC08E. The decorative style and internal black-letter inscription are also found on DEV-0BA8A5 (2016T91) and LEIC-10AC8D (2016T506), which are both dated to the 15th century. As a similar but simpler finger-ring was also found on the Mary Rose, however (Redknap in Gardiner and Allen 2005, 113-114, fig. 3.8, no. 81A2532), it could also date to the first half of the 16th century.

NMS-D0E063: BUCKLE
Description: Silver asymmetric double-loop buckle frame, perhaps from a shoe or spur. One loop is rectangular and the other is D-shaped, with a pointed outside edge. The frame is D-shaped in cross-section, and the only decoration is an oblique groove at either outer corner of the rectangular loop; one of these grooves is now worn away at its outer end. The frame is thickened in the centre where it is drilled to take a separate bar, and the buckle is now bent up on either side of this hole, which is broken through to the reverse with the bar missing. The pin is also missing, but there is a patch of brown discolouration on the straight outside edge which may be from an iron pin. On the reverse, behind the less worn corner groove, is a deeply struck hallmark of a lion passant guardant (also known as a leopard) within a large rectangular cartouche. Dimensions: Length as bent, 26.6mm; width 21.0mm; maximum thickness c. 3mm; weight 3.6g. Discussion: For the form of the buckle, compare a tinned copper-alloy example in Whitehead 2003 (no. 598) which Whitehead interprets as a shoe buckle and dates to 1660-1720. There are also many similar buckles recorded on the PAS database (e.g. BH-3DA9B7). Some more complete examples, however, survive on spurs (e.g. CAM-15DD7C, of silver; SUSS-830B37, of tinned or silvered copper alloy; and WILT-ACE4B5, of copper alloy). The dates given to these spurs vary, but most evidence again points towards the late 17th or early 18th century, with a suspicion that silver examples may be commoner in the later part of this date-range. The hallmark denotes sterling quality, and was used on some items of silver from the mid 16th century onwards. Date: Certainly within the century 1650-1750, and probably within the conventional date-range for these buckles of 1660-1720 AD.

NMS-CED7ED: FINGER RING
Description: Gold and gem finger-ring, the gemstone held in place by four claws. The circular-section hoop is slender, generally 1.4mm in diameter. It flares upwards and flattens in thickness to a tall stirrup-shaped bezel which is just 0.9mm thick. This has a rounded cut-out at the top which wraps around the gemstone at little to form a pair of claws. At right angles to these are two more claws which are apparently integrally cast with the rest of the hoop. When viewed from the underside, there is no back to the bezel nor any kind of collet wrapped around the stone; the two claws at right angles simply run down to join the hoop in a cross shape at the base of the stone. The hoop is now slightly bent out of shape. The stone is dark blue with a lighter centre, an irregular sub-triangle when seen from the top, rounded on all surfaces and polished smooth. The polishing seems to cover some chips and dents, including a dent in the top whose edge is under the tip of a claw. Dimensions: length as bent c. 25mm, width 21.6mm, thickness at bezel 8.5mm, distance from interior of hoop to top of gemstone 6.0mm, weight 2.7g. Discussion: This ring is of unusual design. The stirrup shape, with a tall bezel, is characteristic of medieval finger-rings, and four claws are not uncommon on these. The complete lack of any kind of collet, or any backplate to the bezel, is more difficult to parallel. The closest example on the PAS database is a ring from Burrough Green, Cambs (SF-D84781, 2011T681) with a similarly lightweight construction; there is another similar, but with decorated shoulders, in the British Museum, AF.1881 (Dalton 1912, no. 1844; on line at The BM dates this to the 13th or 14th century (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/H_AF-1881). A slightly more distant parallel from Handbridge, Cheshire, has a sturdier construction (WREX-848E6F, 2019T982) and is also dated to the 13th or 14th century. Date: From the few parallels available, this ring is likely to date to the 13th or 14th century.

NMS-A203FE: FINGER RING
Description: Gold posy ring. The hoop is of even width and D-shaped cross-section throughout, although with some wear. The curved exterior is undecorated, and worn to a matt finish. The flat interior is more glossy, and has the inscription in neat seriffed capitals BE. FAYTHFVL. TO. THY. FREND. The two final letters are ligated. Dimensions: Exterior diameter, 20.5mm. Width of hoop, 5.1mm (worn in some places to 5.0mm). Thickness of hoop, 1.5mm (worn in some places down to 1.2mm). Weight, 5.5g. Discussion: This is a fairly small but relatively wide hoop. There is no precise parallel to the motto or 'posy' of Be Faithful To Thy Friend on the PAS database, the closest perhaps being As faithfull as freindly on KENT-E52DE7 and I come from a faithfull friend on LEIC-BEF8C3. Date: 'Roman' capital letters such as those on this ring were in use from the mid 16th to mid 17th century (Oman 1974, 41), so 1550-1650.

NMS-8F4D4A: COIN HOARD
Two silver pennies of Aethelred II (978 - 1013), both so-called Second Crux type, dating to AD 991-997 and found together. Catalogue: 1) Aethelred, 2nd Crux, moneyer Leofric of Lincoln, weight 1.52g. 2) Aethelred, 2nd Crux, moneyer Leofstan of Norwich, weight 1.61g. Discussion: They surely are part of a hoard or purse loss and entered the ground at the same time. Thus they represent a case of Treasure, as groups of two or more coins of precious metal and over 300 years old at the time of finding qualify as potential Treasure under the stipulations of the Treasure Act 1996.

NMS-3A75F4: HOARD
Group of six silver coins, all groats or double patards (or fragments thereof). Catalogue: 1) Richard III, fragment (about half) of a groat, London, initial mark & type illegible, 1.52g, 1483-5. 2) Henry VII or VIII, small fragment of a groat, further details illegible, 0.30g, c.1500-44. 3) Henry VIII, groat, London, rose initial mark, North 1797, 2.32g (missing a piece), 1526-9. 4) Henry VIII, groat, London, lis initial mark, uncertain letter forms of F and M, 2.52g, 1526-44. 5) Henry VIII, groat, London, lis initial mark, uncertain letter forms of F and M, 2.66g, 1526-44. 6) Charles the Bold of Burgundy, fragment (about a third) of a double patard, Brabant or Flanders, Gelder & Hoc 23, 0.98g, 1467-74. Discussion and Date: Most of these coins have suffered some damage from their time in the ploughsoil; presumably they have been churning around in the soil for some time. The hoard was probably deposited in the 1530s or early 1540s, before Henry VIII's debasement of the coinage commencing in 1544, an act which led to the disappearance from circulation of good silver coins like these.

NMS-2623F1: VERVEL
Description: Silver vervel or hawking ring of Lewis and Richardson type C.iii (flat shield shape, cast in one piece). It is thin and flat, and the shield is quite angular, with a point at the base; much of the straight top is taken up with the ring. It is engraved on one face with italic lettering reading Lestr / ange / Morda / nt (Lestrange Mordant). The top of the long s, and the L, are both off the edge of the shield, as if the hole in the ring was cut through after engraving. The other face has a lightly engraved heraldic crest. This consists of a wreath or torse towards the base, with a bust above which may be a Saracen’s head (see below, under Discussion). The figure wears a garment with a square neckline, and appears to be wearing a choker necklace with a lozenge-shaped pendant. The shoulder is decorated with a stamped crescent. The face is in three-quarter view, with the left ear showing. Although there are scratches across making it hard to see the details of the hair, it appears to be in an elaborate hairstyle or head-dress (possibly a kind of turban) and with something like a rosette to the side, with a pair of flowing ribbons. Dimensions: Length 19.6mm, width 10.2mm, thickness 1.0mm, diameter of hole 6.7mm, weight 1.3g. Discussion: Lestrange Mordaunt (1572–1627) was a grandson of Robert Mordaunt and Barbara le Strange (who married in 1541). He held the estate of Massingham Parva, now Little Massingham, in Norfolk; he served as Sheriff of Norfolk in 1606-07, and was created a baronet in 1611. The crest of the Mordaunt baronets is a Saracen’s head. Similar type C.iii vervels recorded on the PAS database include NMS-1E9786 (2007T679) and SF-29A734 (2004T251), both dated from their inscriptions to the late 16th or early 17th century. Date: The lack of a title on the vervel suggests that it may pre-date the creation of the baronetcy in 1611, giving approximate dates of c. 1590-1611.

NMS-81D353: FINGER RING
Incomplete Roman copper-alloy finger-ring of Guiraud's type 1b. The hoop is largely missing, with breaks worn down to points. What survives of the shoulders rises steeply to a thick oval bezel, measuring 14 x 9.5mm at the top, and a minimum of 5.3mm thick at the centre. It has an oval setting of uncertain material, now much decayed. In the centre is a flat, shiny, glassy, purplish circle sitting on the base of the cell, flanked by a thicker dull brownish material. Perhaps it was originally a glass or enamel. Total surviving width, 19.4mm; total length from top of bezel to broken ends of hoop, 12.2mm. Weight 5.2g. Guiraud dates this type to c. 50 BC to c. 100 AD, but most of the examples on the PAS database are given a rather later date-range, from c. 43 to c. 300 AD.

NMS-8188B9: BROOCH
Incomplete copper-alloy Roman plate brooch of umbonate or domed boss type. The circular boss has a empty sunken dot in the centre, surrounded by a single ring of 12 small triangular champlevé cells (apex inwards) which are inlaid alternately with red and with blue enamel. These cover the dome, and around it is a deep, wide groove, then a flat ring forming a border which now has a fragmentary worn edge. Two flat triangular projections from this border survive, one wide and shallow with the double hinge lug on the reverse and the other (longer and more triangular) with the remains of a catchplate; there is a slight groove between the flat flanged border and these projections. The dome has a hollow reverse, but the rest of the reverse is flat. Surviving length (parallel to missing pin) 31.6mm, surviving width 22.5mm, thickness including hinge lugs and dome c. 10.5mm, weight 7.0g. This is Mackreth's type 6 (2011, 164-6) but it does not quite fit into any of his sub-divisions. It probably dates to the 2nd century AD.

NMS-5A6F3E: BROOCH
Copper-alloy cruciform brooch of Martin (2015) type 1, narrow in shape but large and chunky. The headplate is small, almost square and undecorated, without wings and with sharply right-angled side edges giving a rectangular cross-section 3.4mm thick. Above is a large full-round integral top knob, with a circular base decorated with a circumferential groove, a concave waist above, and then a faceted dome. This has a lower half with eight triangular facets, alternately apex-up and apex-down, and an upper half that is a square-based pyramid. On the reverse of the headplate is a single central pin bar lug with iron staining within and around. There is no trace of the side knobs. The bow springs from the lowest part of the front of the headplate, and is slightly narrower than the headplate here. It starts with a flat panel which has a V-shaped facet or notch cut out of each side. Below this the arched bow gets very slightly wider at the centre. It is faceted with a flat reverse, so that it is triangular in cross-section; the reverse has transverse polishing marks. A pair of fine engraved longitudinal grooves run down the centre of the bow. At the base is another flat panel, with a bolder horizontal groove at the top and another across the centre dividing it into two. Each half has a similar facet or notch cut out of each side. The foot begins with a short flat panel with a groove across the centre and another close to the lower edge, mirroring the flat panel at the base of the bow. Again, small facets or notches are scooped out of the edge of each half, but on one side they are mere concave scoops and on the other they have been removed by corrosion. Below this, the main part of the foot is faceted but with a broad flat band down the centre, so the cross-section is trapezoidal. Each edge is decorated with tiny triangular or D-shaped stamps, and where these are best preserved it seems that one row runs down each edge of the front, and another row runs down the side of the foot. Below is a D-section area with a transverse ridge at top and bottom (the upper ridge decorated with an engraved groove) and a broad concave flute between. On the reverse of this area is a catchplate, made from a plate integrally cast towards the right of the brooch and curled over to the left (when viewed from the back). The edges of the catchplate are corroded and fragmentary. The whole foot tapers slightly towards the terminal, which is in the shape of a horse's head, with moulded eyes, a triangular-section nose and oval nostrils, and a flat reverse. Length 110.6mm, width 13.1mm, weight 50.1g. The details of this brooch are closest to Martin's type 1.1.2 (2015, 24-26). It is much larger than most examples (although compare NMS-CD95AF, which is of similar size and also has a faceted top knob). A smaller version with faceted top knob and punched decoration is known from Ixworth, now in the Ashmolean Museum (MacGregor and Bolick 1991, no. 12.2; Martin 2015, 26, no. 27) and there is another from Miningsby in Lincolnshire (NCL-EF51D5; Martin 2015, 26, no. 32). Another close parallel was found at Reepham, Norfolk (NMS-F01A8C). Type 1.1.2 brooches are dated to c. 420-c.475 AD (Martin 2015, 128).

NMS-56A0CE: PENDANT
Gold pierced imitation coin of early-medieval date, probably early 9th century; probably intended as a pendant. Description: A gold disc, struck with a design on both faces. Each face has a beaded border, originally very neatly placed around the edge, but in places now worn to a plain ridge. Within this is an imitation inscription mainly consisting of radial raised strokes, virtually all of which have raised dots at either end. The centre of the design consists essentially of three horizontal rows of short vertical strokes on the obverse, and five longer horizontal lines on the reverse. Again, virtually all of these end in raised dots, and the horizontal lines are separated by rows of similar dots. The piercing has been pushed through from the reverse of the coin to the obverse, through some of the design elements, leaving a very slight burr on the reverse and a much more obvious burr on the obverse. The placing of the piercing is odd, as when suspended it would make the lines of the central inscriptions run at a steep oblique angle. The disc is generally in good condition but is slightly bent, particularly around the perforation, and although quite worn around the edge is not at all worn elsewhere. Dimensions: 21mm top to bottom by 20.8mm side to side, when held with the design the right way up. Thickness 0.7mm. Diameter of hole 1.7mm. Weight 2.77g. Discussion: The disc was struck in imitation of a dinar (an Islamic medieval gold coin). Dr Lutz Ilisch (formerly of the Research Centre for Islamic Numismatics, University of Tübingen) has seen an image, and given the following comments: "The raised dots show that the prototype was either an Abbasid dinar of between 770 and 820, or an Aghlabid dinar of the second half of the 9th century. Five-line legends are known from Aghlabid dinars struck by rulers in North Africa, with the closest parallels being from coins of Ziyadat-allah II (863-864 AD) and Ziyadat-allah III (903-910 AD); less close, but still possible, parallels include 'Abd-allah (also known as Abdallah ibn Ibrahim, 811-816 AD) and Ziyadat-allah I (816-837 AD)." Dr. Ilisch also comments, however, that it is not certain that a late 9th or early 10th century coin was copied. It is also possible that a classical Abbasid dinar was used as a prototype, and the pendant could either have been a direct imitation or perhaps an imitation of a copy made some time later. Prof Rory Naismith has also seen an image of the coin, and comments: "This is one of a number of western-made imitative dinars from the late eighth century and after. This specimen is, however, noticeably different in style from others. One aspect of this is that the imitation is highly abstracted: the Arabic script has degenerated into a series of lines, and is completely illegible. But the execution is also quite distinct from other imitative dinars, which mostly offer a rather closer approximation of the original. This coin's style suggests a different background. It is to some extent reminiscent of the gold solidi imitating those of Louis the Pious, which likewise reduce the inscriptions to a string of more or less evenly spaced strokes. There are differences in detail, however, such as the pelleting at both ends of most strokes: a feature not regularly seen on the Louis the Pious imitations, and more reminiscent of Anglo-Saxon coins of the later eighth and early ninth centuries. For this reason, a date in (perhaps) the early ninth century is most likely. This coin probably represents a third- or later generation copy of a dinar; that is to say, it sits at several removes from an original, or from users closely familiar with original issues from the Caliphate." Date: The pendant could therefore date from the late 8th century to the mid 10th century, with the most likely period being c. 780 to c. 850 AD.

NMS-D9E26D: CUFF LINK
Description: Silver cufflink element. It is circular, pressed into a hollow shape with flat top, down-turned wall and out-turned rim. The flat top has a raised rim, and the sunken centre within is decorated with a counter-relief heart over two crossed arrows (heads downwards) with a flame above. The reverse has an attachment loop made from round-section wire, now bent. Dimensions: Diameter 14.mm, overall thickness including loop 5.0mm, weight 1.0g. Discussion: This is Lewis's type B, flaming heart with two arrows, a fairly common type; see NMS-499371 for a complete example. Buttons and cufflinks featuring similar designs are thought to have originally been produced to commemorate the marriage of Charles II to Catherine of Braganza in 1662, but the design continued to be used as a general symbol of love and marriage. Date: These cufflinks seem to have been used from the Restoration into the first decade or two of the 18th century, so c. 1660-c. 1720.

NMS-AEAC9D: UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT
Fragment of flat copper-alloy plate, 1.3mm thick and approximately rectangular, 23 x 12 mm. One face is smooth and the other rougher. One long edge is cut into with four V-shaped notches, larger at one end and getting smaller towards the other. The other long edge has a partial circle (c. 6mm diameter) cut out of the corner closer to the smaller notches. Other edges appear to be broken (worn breaks). The zig-zag serrations are very slightly bevelled or rounded, on the smoother face only. There is a green patina and the object appears of some age, although precise date and function are unknown. It weighs 1.49g.

NMS-AE3E72: BRACELET
Copper-alloy fragment, probably part of a late Roman bracelet (late 3rd or 4th century) with hook-and-eye fastening. Both ends are broken; the wider end is pointed-oval in cross-section, 8.1 x 4.9mm, with the outer surface faceted or strongly curved and the inner more gently curved. The break here is fresh. The fragment then tapers to a point, and flattens before thickening again at the point. In side view, the point is broken across a side-to-side perforation or possible hook; the breaks here are very worn, making it hard to distinguish between a break and an original edge. The fragment is decorated with a widely spaced pair of transverse grooves just behind the broken loop, and a pair of punched dots between the grooves; the effect is that of an animal head. Length of fragment as bent 20.6mm, weight 2.6g. Roman hook-and-eye bracelets normally have a loop or eye made from front to back rather than side to side, suggesting that this may be part of the hook end rather than the eye end. Compare BUC-3116A2.

NMS-ADCD92: BRACELET
Probable bracelet fragment consisting of a piece of curved copper-alloy rod. It tapers from 6.6mm wide at an original squared-off end to 3.6mm wide at a fairly fresh break, and increases in thickness from 1.4mm at the original end to 3.4mm at the break. It is therefore sub-circular in cross-section at the break, but for most of its length the fragment is D-section with a flat inner surface. The slightly convex outer surface has traces of possible decoration, including areas with bevelled edges, but it is worn and there is a casting flaw (a rounded depression) which makes the original intended appearance uncertain. Unbent length c. 47mm, weight 3.5g. Probably Roman, late 3rd or 4th century.

NMS-AD8C38: BROOCH
Fragment of late Iron Age or early Roman copper-alloy brooch, probably a Nauheim or Nauheim derivative. It consists of a flat, triangular bow, now a little bent, tapering from 7.5mm wide at the top with straight sides to a pointed tip with a tiny upturned bump. There is a groove down the centre and either edge; all the grooves peter out before the end of the brooch, and the side grooves have hints of ribbing or beading or punched decoration. Although the foot of the brooch appears complete, as there is absolutely no hint of a catchplate on the smooth reverse, it may be broken and worn very smooth. At the top, a central projection (the stub of the spring and pin) emerges and curves forward before ending in a worn break. The fragment is 34.8mm long and weighs The thickness of the bow varies between 0.8mm at the wider part, to 1.3mm thick at the foot just above the bump. It weighs 1.0g. This is likely to be either a Nauheim or a Nauheim derivative brooch. Although there is not enough surviving to be entirely sure which, the decoration suggests a Nauheim; compare Mackreth (2011) nos. 3936 and 3946 (Nauheims) and 3961 (Nauheim derivative), and on the PAS database, PUBLIC-4CBC3E and NMS-119D4A (Nauheims) and KENT-A13D7A (Nauheim derivative). Nauheim brooches date from c. 50 BC to c. 50 AD, and the derivatives from c. 10 AD to c. 100 AD.

NMS-9A9CB9: HOARD
Three silver medieval coins, all halfpennies of Edward I. Catalogue: 1. Irish halfpenny of Edward I (2nd coinage) minted in Dublin. EDW R ANGL DNS HYB / CIVITAS [DVB]LINIE Diameter 14.7mm, weight 0.65g. Withers Type 1 (1a or 1c), Spink (2015) no. 6250. Date: 1280-1284. 2. Irish halfpenny of Edward I (2nd coinage) minted in Waterford. EDW R ANGL DNS HYB / CIVITAS VATERFOR Diameter 15.03mm, weight 0.68g. Withers Type 2e, Spink (2015) no. 6254. Date: 1281-1284. 3. Halfpenny of Edward I (class 3b) minted in London. EDW R ANGL DNS HYB / CIVITAS LONDON Diameter 14.6mm, weight 0.53g. Spink 1431, North 1044. Date: 1280. Discussion: The coins were found very close together in a six foot diameter area, and on the balance of probability represent a so-called purse loss or part of one. All are very close together in date, belonging to the early 1280s, and the fact that two are Irish suggests that the person losing the putative purse may have recently come from there, or have received money from someone else who had.

NMS-4875A5: FINGER RING
Description: Gold mourning ring. A simple D-section hoop of consistent width throughout, with engraved decoration in one place on the convex outer face forming a stylised skull bezel seen in a three-quarter view looking to the viewer's left. The edges of the skull are each formed from a bold V-section curved cut which bites deeply into the metal. The face is made up of two roughly round dots for eyes, and an inverted V-shaped nose between; this is all set off centre, towards the left-hand cut, giving the impression of the three-quarter view. Below are the teeth, made from a long narrow horizontal groove which runs the full width of the skull, and crossed by nine small vertical grooves. To the right the grooves stop before the outer cut, and the space above the long horizontal groove has three oblique grooves indicating the back of the skull. The flat inner surface is engraved with widely spaced letters in a neat cursive script. The inscription covers the entire hoop apart from the skull area, and reads Prepare to Follow ER 15 no 80 suggesting that the person memorialised had the initials ER and died on 15th November 1680. The uprights of the capitals are made from double lines. Dimensions: External diameter 21.7mm, internal diameter 19.5mm. The hoop is 3.8mm wide and 1.3mm thick, and the ring weighs 3.77g. Discussion: This was a popular style of mourning or memento mori ring, and the dated inscription is found on several, ranging in date from 1652 (GLO-939BD8) to 1730 (OXON-FF5C2D) but most common between c. 1660 and c. 1720; about ten are known from each decade between these dates. It seems that orders for mourning rings usually ran to between ten and sixty, and were distributed to friends and family either at the funeral or soon after (Oman 1974, 72-3). The size of this ring suggests that it might have been made for a man. The person memorialised, with the initials ER, is almost certainly Elizabeth Roope, who died on 15 November 1680 and was buried in Morningthorpe church, very near to where the ring was found. Her husband was John Roope, gent, who died in 1685 and who has a memorial in the church. The Roope or Rope family lived in Morningthorpe Manor. Date: 1680 AD.

NMS-312C0B: VERVEL
Description: Tiny silver vervel or hawking ring of Lewis and Richardson type B. The hoop is nearly circular in shape, and D-shaped in cross-section with a flat exterior and convex inner surface. The exterior is engraved with the name John Rychers in italic script; the letters of the forename are much more tightly spaced than those of the surname, and the inscription fills most of the space available. Dimensions: External diameter 8.3-8.6mm. Width of hoop 2.2mm. Thickness of hoop 0.9mm. Weight 0.29g. Discussion: Type B vervels (cylindrical in shape) are relatively uncommon compared to other types, and this is a particularly small one. Good parallels on the PAS database include NMS-584F18, NLM-1A695D and SF-D2253D. The Richers family (also spelled Rychers) owned Swannington Hall from at least the late 15th century (John Richers's will of 1501 makes it clear that the family had lived there for some time) to before 1851, when it was owned by the Bladwell family. The precise John Rychers mentioned on the vervel, and his dates, have yet to be identified, but two John Richerses are baptised at Swannington in the 17th century: the first on 14th April 1608, the second on 30th March 1628 (son of William, marriage possibly 1616). Compare NMS-E248A4 (2021T629), found in the same parish. Date: The script indicates a 17th-century date.

NMS-075348: BROOCH
Description: Small gold annular brooch of medieval date, with inscription. The frame is circular with a triangular cross-section, flat and undecorated on the reverse. The inner angle of the front is decorated with a groove within which is a line of fine, neat beading; under a lens it can be seen that this has been stamped, as each bead is surrounded by a slight upstanding circle. The outer angle has an inscription in seriffed capitals which is not immediately readable, and is discussed below. The frame is interrupted by a constriction for the pin. The gold pin survives complete, with a D-shaped cross-section. There is a tiny zone at the junction of the loop and shaft which is decorated on the front by further stamps, this time overlapped to create a 'brambled' effect. The loop has been wrapped around the constriction and there is a butted seam on the underside. The inscription is clearly written, but difficult to interpret. If it is read using the outer edge of the brooch as a baseline, it appears to read VOLNIS : MEO W LINE + (from one side of the pin constriction to the other). Both Ls and both Es are reversed; the Es have rounded backs and the first E has an incomplete central bar so may possibly be a C. The W is in fact an odd shape consisting of a horizontal line underneath a zig-zag line; it could alternatively be an upside-down A with a straight bar across the top and a V-shaped central bar. If it is read using the central ridge of the brooch as a baseline, it appears to read + ENIL AOE W : SIN LOV with both Ls consisting of upright stems and right-turning tops, and the V upside down. Although it is more normal to read a brooch the second way, and this way it also has the benefit of starting as usual with a cross, the M (or W) has vertical end-stems and looks more like an M than a W, and there are generally fewer idiosyncrasies when it is read the other way up, using the exterior as a baseline. Dimensions: Diameter 17.0mm, width of frame 2.8mm, maximum width of pin 1.7mm, thickness of frame 1.1mm, weight 1.5g. Discussion: If the inscription reads VOLNIS MEO ALINE, this could be interpreted as the Latin for 'You have wounded me, Alina', although this is an odd motto for a brooch. If it is read the other way up, it is possible that part of the inscription was intended to read SIN LOV, possibly intended as a variant of 'I am a sign of love'. It is hard to interpret it with SI as 'if', although this is a common word in French inscriptions. Dr Malcolm Jones has seen an image of the brooch and has commented that despite its well-formed letters, it appears to be a meaningless inscription. Most meaningless inscriptions are made up of random repeated simple letters, as on (for example) LIN-9A4B26, but there are a few (like this one) where the letters vary as in a normal inscription, but we cannot read or understand it. Similar examples include NMS-C985FA, DENO-1AF752 (with the inscription on the reverse), and the copper-alloy example GLO-F5B8D7 (which is inscribed on both faces). Date: The form of the brooch, and its use of a stamp to form beading and brambling, suggests a date in the 13th or 14th century.

NMS-9F1F6A: STUD
Disc-headed nail or stud made from copper alloy, of uncertain date but perhaps Roman to medieval. The head is flat and an irregular circular shape, 10.3-11.1mm in diameter and c. 2mm thick. The edge is perhaps damaged in places but it was originally rectilinear; the cross-section is not quite rectangular, as the reverse seems to be slightly thicker where the off-centre shaft emerges. This is roughly circular in cross-section and tapers at first gently and then more steeply to a point. It has a shiny brown patina. Total length, 9.2mm. Weight, 1.4g.

NMS-9EBBDC: KNIFE
Copper-alloy sheet fragment, possibly part of an end-cap from a late medieval knife handle. The surviving part is slightly convex and sub-rectangular, with at least two surviving corners (and possibly a third) cut off at an angle. Perhaps around half survives, with an incurved V-shaped worn break which has pitting around. This is probably simply the remains of corrosion bubbles, but it could possibly have once been decorated with punched dots. There is no trace of an original central perforation, and as the concave reverse is almost completely covered with the remains of solder, it may have been soldered in place rather than riveted or directly fixed to the iron tang. Surviving length, 15.2mm; width, 14.0mm; thickness of sheet, 0.9mm; overall thickness, 1.7mm; weight 0.79g. Compare SF9172, SF-FC3893, SUR-81703C, SUR-60C544, NMS-4957C1 etc; probably 15th century.