MEDIEVAL SCABBARD

1100

Incomplete medieval copper alloy dagger or sword scabbard chape, cast-in-one, with a small lobe at the base, a three-quarter round cut-out in the top edges of the triangular lower closed part and two pairs of arm extending up to pierced and expanded terminals. One pair is bent, the other largely missing. The holes in the extant terminal are filled with decayed iron and between them a small amount of dessicated leather remains. The front face of the lower part is decorated with a V-shaped arrangement oflines of finely executed interrupted rocker-arm engraving giving the appearance of tiny addorsed triangles. Two small perforations are probablt casting flaws. Length c.48mm. Width (estimated) 25mm. Thickness 6mm. Very similar arms can be seen on 12th-century chapes (de Reuck 1991, 3), and also WILT-CBCE76 on this database.Found within 20m of grid reference.