Mystery object declared treasure
This week, this mystery object was declared treasure. It’s a gilded silver object with niello inlay and Salin’s Style I decoration, which dates it to the early Anglo-Saxon period. It was unearthed by a detectorist in Field Dalling in Norfolk last September and is recorded at the PAS as NMS-4D6BA7.
Norfolk finds liaison officer, Dr Helen Geake, said “It’s a bit of a mystery, but is probably related to swords“.
A report sent to the Norfolk coroner said it was reminiscent of a buckle from Proosa in Estonia and it shared elements of other similar buckles on PAS. Buckles may have been used on a sword-belt and so the mystery object may have been a matching mount. Its underside is like the mount of the Sutton Hoo shield.
It is currently with the British Museum, where further analysis may reveal whether it was once soldered onto something.
If you have any thoughts on what the object might be, please let me know.