This gold and scabbard mount has been dated to AD 575 – 650. The quality of the workmanship is exceptional and considered to be a step above other comparable finds from the region of that period. Consequently the PAS report suggests that it could have been made for a royal rather than a local aristocrat. It is considered a Find of Note of Regional Importance.
It is a delicate object and clearly there are some parts missing. As you would expect, the detectorist whose find it is has been busy looking for them as described in the report: “The finder has unsurprisingly searched assiduously for any further fragments of this object or any other associated objects. However, and to date, other material reported from the vicinity is of early post-medieval date“.