EARLY MEDIEVAL HARNESS MOUNT

1000

Thin flat copper-alloy harness mount, lozengiform at one end and with a long projection ending in a trefoil or fleur-de-lis terminal at the other. There is worn engraved decoration, perhaps originally inlaid. On the lozenge is a double-strand diagonal cross, each arm slightly expanded and with two transverse lines close to the crossing; the expanded ends each end in a slight rounding of the edge of the mount. The corners of the lozenge are also slightly rounded. The projection has border grooves interrupted by a pair of transverse grooves running from the border to the edge. The border grooves then curve to run outwards to the two side lobes of the trefoil terminal, and there is a final V-shaped groove at the base of the third lobe. Due to the wear and corrosion of the mount, some of the rivet holes are hard to see. There is certainly one, blocked by copper-alloy corrosion, in the central lobe of the trefoil terminal, and another blocked by iron corrosion at the other end in the far corner of the lozenge. There appear to be others (both with copper-alloy corrosion) in the lozenge's other two corners, and there may be one in the centre of the lozenge and near one edge of the lozenge, again both with copper-alloy corrosion (these last two are not shown on the drawing). This mount dates to the early 11th century, and may be from a bridle; it is an example of the Anglo-Scandinavian fashions in horse fittings current at the time (compare bridle cheekpieces and stirrup mounts). It fits into a group of rather cheaply made mounts which, while known about, has never been systematically gathered up or studied.