EARLY MEDIEVAL GIRDLE HANGER

450

Early medieval girdle hanger; fragment of cast copper alloy girdle hanger of 6th century date. The fragment is the top part of the girdle hanger, consisting of the suspension loop and the upper part of the central shank. The suspension loop is formed by drawing out the top of the shank into a rough knop which has then been pierced. The upper shank is of D-shaped cross section, with a flat back and rounded front. After approximately 15mm it is flattened to form the main shank, which is of narrow rectangular cross section. This flattened part is decorated with a single row of punched annulets longitudinally along the centre. The fragment is broken off approximately 14mm from the point of flattening.Length 34.20mm, width 6.48mm, thickness 4.78mm, weight 3.56gRef: MacGregor and Bolick "AshmoleanMuseum; A Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections (Non-ferrous Metals)" (pp. 228-231).Note - a similar fragment of girdle hanger, with more elaborate decoration, was found within the same field as this artefact. See DENO-D3FFE8