253 (40)

224

Dress Accessories

1195    CUS73 39 (1,12) 9

Incomplete; 1 45mm; two (?of original three) arches, the surviving ones being of different sizes; expanded end with collar. The original length would have been just over 60mm.

Published by Henig (1974, 194 & 196 no. 133).

1196    BWB83 2347 (137) 11 fig 140

Single arch, 1 37mm; there is an animars head at each end of the pendent element - the larger head is complemented by an integrally cast wing on the curve, so that together these give the appearance of a dragon-like beast; the two suspension loops have D-shaped terminals at the back, and are separate from the bar-mounts at the front (each 9x4mm), which were originally connected to them by two rivets - two of these and part of a third survive; a replacement rivet in a different position has been added.

1197    BWB83 1905 (401) 11 fig 140 Incomplete; two (?of original three) arches, 1 42mm+; central inverted keyhole-shaped opening, flanked by an open semicircle; two prongs at the top echo the cusps in the extemal angles between the arches; the surviv-ing end has a collared expanded terminal; the back is fiat, in contrast with the three-dimensional modelling of the front. The original length would have been just under 60mm.

A virtually identical item (broken at almost the same point), was excavated at Winchester (Biddle forthcom-ing, no. 2394 - Nick Griffiths, pers. comm.).

1198    BWB83 5838 (324) 12 fig 140

Three arches, 1 43mm; the central arch is larger than the two flanking ones; there is a collar on each expanded end; the bar-mounts, each 13x4mm have subrectangular terminals at the back and each retains two rivets.

The size of the bar-mounts in each case indicates the approximate width of the strap to which the mount was attached - on the Burgos example (see above) the two mounts on the front of the belt presumably served the same function as the bar-mounts in the London examples. On this assumption, the straps for nos. 1196 and 1198 would, like that for no. 1194, have been consider-ably narrower than the 43mm-wide Burgos belt, which was apparently for a sword on the other side of the body (Collin nd, 6). Bar-mounts nos. 1164 and 1165 may be from similar appendages. A form intermediate between that of no. 1194 and the other mounts of this category listed above consists of a cast single arch of similar shape to no. 1194, but with expanded terminals. This type is so far represented in London by two examples (TEX88 acc. no. 285, and MoL acc. no. Al 1140 found at Tabard Street); there are two examples in the Ashmolean Museum (acc. no. 1927.6439, and no. 1873.38 - found at Woodperry, Oxon -which retains a bar-mount for a strap c.l2mm wide - JW 1846, 120 fig 8, and 122 - fig 140 in this volume; another example, excavated at Chertsey Abbey, was apparently held by two metal slides, of a type not identified among the recent London finds, instead of bar-mounts - Poulton 1988, 67 fig 44 no. 10).

Nonę of the above mounts has wear marks on the arches to indicate that something was de-finitely suspended from them, though a holder for a purse or other item seems the most probable explanation of their function.

ASYMMETRICAL MOUNTS WITH A RIDGE AND APERTURE

Copper alloy

The following items would probably have had some specialised purpose; this has not yet been identified. Number 1201 indicates that they were strap mounts. The apertures are all crudely cut rectangles.

1199    SWA81 acc. no. 1810 (context 2081) ceramic phase 9 fig 141

Rectangular; 14x32mm; aperture at middle of off-centred transverse ridge; roughly engraved obliąue lines, some making V motifs; two missing rivets.

1200    SWA81 1845 (2106) 12 fig 141 15xl7mm; one edge has two angled sides, the other has four slightly angled projections; aperture in middle of transverse ridge; engraved obliąue lines and border; parts of two iron rivets survive.

(A smali penannular copper-alloy sheet ring found attached by corrosion products to the mount is unlikely to have had any significant association with it.)

1201    SWA81 888 (2100) 12 fig 141 Mount 16 x 17mm, with one trilobed edge and the other having two angled sides, on leather strap 55xl8mm (tom off at both ends); the ridge of the mount runs transversely across the strap; two iron rivets; obliąue, multiple engraved hatching in fields defined by