EARLY MEDIEVAL STIRRUP

1000

A complete and very unusual copper-alloy late Anglo-Saxon stirrup strap mount. This mount is most similar to Williams Class A type 1 mounts, as it is pentagonal in shape and has an engraved design on its front face (Williams 1997, 26-27, fig 19). However, it does not have a knobbed profile or rounded pendant lobe as type 1 does, but rather has straight angular sides and a circular hole measuring 5mm in diameter through a triangular shaped upper terminal. In shape it is rectangular for two thirds of its length and then tapers to a point, forming a triangular shape for its last third, it measures 58mm in length and 38mm in width, at its widest point. It also has an angled flange, unlike type 1 which have right-angle flanges, with two lower fixing holes. There is corroded iron adhering to the back face of the flange. The front face has a boarder groove and within this there is an engraved design, both halves of which are roughly the same. This design consists, from the top down, of six grooves radiating upwards from the central circular hole, below and to either side of the hole there are opposing spirals, with three grooves radiating down from their lower edge. In between these two sets of three grooves there is a cross shaped groove. Below and to either side of this there are two opposing sets of U-shaped grooves. Each of these has five U-shaped grooves arranged one inside the other with the open end of the U-shape facing the sides of the mount. There are three transverse grooves in between the two sets of U-shaped grooves. No parallel could be found for this engraving and it is likely to be unique, what is being represented it not clear, it could possibly be zoomorphic and the central cross shape could have Christian connotations. This stirrup strap mount is likely to date to the 11th century and appears to be a new type of mount, as it does not fit easily into Williams 1997 typology.