EARLY MEDIEVAL BRACELET

700

A large piece of copper alloy, possibly part of an Early Medieval penannular bracelet. It is rounded in section and tapers towards a point at what appears to be a complete end. About half of the loop is missing. It has no signs of decoration or engraving and has a dark green patina. It has a length of 55.54mm, width 8.47mm, weight 22.93g. The object was found in a field producing many 8th and 9th century objects, which is why an Early Medieval date is tentatively suggested, but Early Medieval bracelets are rare. Only 7 are recorded on the PAS database to date, of which LIN-C33EE4 is the most similar, though more angular in section. An example of similar size, but with a different terminal is number 208 on page 27 of Evans and Loveluck (eds), 2009, Life and Economy at Early Medieval Flixborough AD 600 - 1000; The Artefact Evidence, but it is noted that such objects are uncommon in the Early Medieval period, and that it was not from a stratified context.